II

NOTES:

ALL ABOUT ME

ALL ABOUT ME

My name:

My address:

My telephone number:

My social worker's name:

My social worker's number:

Social work Team leaders name:

Social work Team leaders number:

My parents name:

My parents number:

My schools name:

My schools number:

People who are important to me:(e.g. friends and family)

IV

GOING INTO

FOSTEr cArE INFOrMAT

ION

FOR WHEN YOU FIRST

GO INTO FOSTER CARE

GOING INTO

FOSTEr cArE

1What is this book for? This is a book for when you first come into care. It was written by children who live in care now or who used to live in care.Children in care know that you might have lots of questions when you first go into care. They wanted to tell you about some things that they think might help you when you first go into care. It might help you understand: What does being in care mean? Why are you in care? How do you feel about going into care?

What does being in care mean? Children go into care when their parents are not able

to care for them. This means that you leave your home and live in a new home with people who care for you and keep you safe.

There are over 6000 children in care in Ireland.

A person called a Social Worker will help you when you are moving into your new home. They have special training to help you and your family. You should see your Social Worker lots when you first go into care. You should know their full name and number. You can write them down in the ALL ABOUT ME section at the begining of this book. Your Social Worker will talk to you about ALL of the things in this book.

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

Being in care:

HErE IS WHAT THE

cHILDrEN

IN cArE WANTED T

O TELL YOU

2 Why am I in care? There are lots of reasons children go

into care. WHATEVER the reason is, it is not your fault.

Your Social Worker will talk to you about why you have been taken into care.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING INTO cArE

Draw or write about how YOU feel about going into care

3Where will I live? When you go into foster care, you live with another family. They are called your foster family;

The people in your foster family care for you in the same way that they would care for their own family;

The adult in the house is called your foster parent. You can talk to them about what is the best name to call them. It might be by their first name and it might be Mam or Dad;

If you live with somebody from your own family like your aunt, uncle, grandparent, sister or brother, this is called relative foster care;

You might have your own room or you might have to share with other children living in the house.

Draw or write about how YOU feel about your new home

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

4 Where will I go to school? If possible, your new home will be close enough to your old school so that you do not have to change school;

Sometimes, your new home is too far from your old school and you might have to go to a new school.

Your Social Worker will talk to you about this.

My School:

52

How long will I be in care?

How long will I be in care? Some children are in care for a very short

time. Some children are in care for a long time. Every person is in care for a different amount

of time. Your Social Worker will talk to you about how long they think you might be in care for. THINGS I

WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

4

1

3

6 Can I see my family and friends? If possible, your Social Worker will help you to see your parents, brothers and sisters. This is called access;

For different reasons, sometimes it is difficult to make sure that you get to see your family.

Your Social Worker will talk to you about this; If there are other people that are important to you and you

would like to see them, tell your Social Worker about them.

Draw or write about the people that are important to YOU...

7THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHEN YOU ArE IN cArE The children in care who wrote this book wanted you to know about these important things:

Your care plan Every child in care has a Care Plan; This is a plan for your life in care and all the things to help you when

you are in care e.g. Whereyouwillliveandwhoyouwilllivewith; Whereyouwillgotoschool; Whereandwhenyouwillmeetyourfamily. Your Social Worker will talk to you about plans for your care every

time they visit; You can talk to your Foster Parent and arrange to talk to your Social

Worker about your life in care and the things in your Care Plan anytime you like;

Your Care Plan is also talked about at meetings. These meetings are called Child in Care Review meetings.

Child in Care Review meetings A meeting is when people who care for you come together to talk with you about how you are getting on. The people at the meeting might be your parents, Social Worker, foster parents and teacher.

8 What do you talk about at a Child in Care Review meeting?At the meetings, you talk about: Anything you want to talk about; What has happened since the last meeting; Your home.and if you are happy or sad about that; Your school.and if you are happy or sad about that; Your health..and how you are feeling; Where and when you will meet your parents, brothers,

sisters and other people you want to see (if possible) How you feel about living in your new home; Where you will live in the future.

Who is at the Child in Care Review meeting? Your Social Worker, foster parent, parents and

other people who care for you can go to the meeting;

YOU are the most important person at the Child in Care Review meetings. You can say:

WHEREyouwouldlikethemeetingstobee.g.your sitting room or somewhere you like;

WHOyouwouldliketobeatthemeeting;

THErE SHOULD

BE NIcE FOOD

AT THE MEETI

NG

AND IT SHOUL

D

BE IN A NIcE

PLAcE!

9When are the Child in Care Review meetings? There is a meeting about your Care

Plan when you first go into care; After that, there is a Child in Care

Review meeting every six months for the first two years;

After that, there is one every year.

The Child in Care Review meetings last for about one hour.

Help from children in care about Child in Care Review meetings Your Foster Parent and Social Worker

will help you get ready for your Child in Care Review meeting. They will talk to you about what will be talked about at the meeting;

It is ok to say how you really feel. You do not need to worry about upsetting anyone else;

If you do not want to say anything, your Foster Parent or Social Worker can help you say what you want to say;

The most important thing to remember is that this meeting is for YOU to make sure you are being well cared for.

REMEMBER! You do NOT have to

wait for a Child in Care Review meeting to talk about something that is important or to ask for something e.g. to

go on a sleepover at a friends house.

10

A few more importa

nt things

about living in care

:

My Care Plan or Child in Care Review meetings

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

Food: You might be asked to eat food that is different to what you are used to;

Hobbies: You might be able to join different clubs and groups e.g. a hurling club or a dance group;

Clothes: Your foster

parent is given money

to buy you clothes. Like

in any family, you can

only buy so many!

Sleepovers: It can be more difficult to go on sleepovers at a friends house when you are in care. You might need to have permission from your foster parent, your Social Worker and sometimes from your parents. If you want to go on a sleepover, talk to your foster parent or your Social Worker about this.

11THINGS I

WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS THAT HELPED OTHEr cHILDrEN IN cArEThe children who wrote this book also wanted to tell you about some of the things that really helped them when they were in care:

12

Living with a foster family Give your foster family a chance; Every family has different rules e.g. bedtimes and dinner times; Your foster parent or anyone in the foster family is NOT allowed

to push or slap you at ANY time; Tell your foster parent what food you like; Tell your foster parent what TV programmes you like; Tell your foster parent what things you like to do; Tell your foster parent what things you do not like to do; Tell your foster parent about new things youd like to try!

(You can write them down in the ALL ABOUT ME section at the begining of this book.)

Talk to people about how you are feeling Make sure you talk to people about how you are feeling. Talk

to someone you trust. This might be a teacher, Social Worker, your foster parent, a friend, brother, sister or your Mum or Dad;

See if your Social Worker can arrange for you to meet with other children in care. It is really good to talk to other people in care.

13

Ask for things Do not be afraid to ask for things e.g. check and see if you can have your old pet or a new one.

School School is importa

nt and it is a good

idea to try and do your best;

Lots of children have problems with

reading and writing. If you do, talk

to your foster parent or your Social

Worker and they will get you extra hel

p.

Baking is great fun and a way of making things you like!

It is OK to look forward to seeing

your family, even if you really like

the people caring for you.

Scared; Worried; Shy; Sad; Glad; Happy.

It is normal to feel...

It is normal to feel like you have lots of questions.

CROSSWORD

14

Things that helped other children in care

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK Or TELL MY SOcIAL

WOrKEr ABOUT

CROSSWORD

15Information

overload!

There is a lot of information in this

book

that might be new. See how much y

ou

can remember by doing this cross

word:

ANSWERS

ACROSS

2. FOSTER CARE

5. WORRIED

6. ANYTHING!

DOWN

2. SOCIAL WORKER

3. CARE PLAN

4. ME!

1 2

5

3

6

4

Across1. What is it called when you are living with another family in their home?5. One of the things it is normal to

feel when you are going into care6. What you can talk about at a Child in Care Review meeting?

Down2. Person that helps you when

you are going into care3. Name of the plan to help you

when you are in care4. Most important person at a

Child in Care Review meeting

WORDSEARCH

16

S Y F E E L I N G H A P P Y DD O L K D Z C Z C F O R I Y GC R C I N A L P E R A C I F LK B J I M S C H O O L T F P ZF M Q C A A V H H Y Y Y G Y PK E A J H L F P O O L N P V LH Q E Y J F W R V H N I J R HF K S L F N R O E P V W M Y LJ J F K I H F I R T Z N H A RM P G J W N G Z E K S H H V FB V O P F F G B J N E O Q F RD S V F H B S S B R D R F P HU F D Q K R X D A S Q S S V RV Y R M P H F N P F B O R A O I Y P X H H H U T R E B A R K

S Y F E E L I N G H A P P Y D

D O L K D Z C Z C F O R I Y G

C R C I N A L P E R A C I F L

K B J I M S C H O O L T F P Z

F M Q C A A V H H Y Y Y G Y P

K E A J H L F P O O L N P V L

H Q E Y J F W R V H N I J R H

F K S L F N R O E P V W M Y L

J J F K I H F I R T Z N H A R

M P G J W N G Z E K S H H V F

B V O P F F G B J N E O Q F R

D S V F H B S S B R D R F P H

U F D Q K R X D A S Q S S V R

V Y R M P H F N P F B O R A O

I Y P X H H H U T R E B A R K

THINGS THAT ArE IMPOrTANT WHEN YOU ArE IN cArE

CARE PLANFAMILYFEELING HAPPYFEELING SAFEFOSTER FAMILYFRIENDSSCHOOLSOCIAL WORKER

Word Search

You can do this Word Search

to help you remember some

of the things that are important

when you are in care.

WORDSEARCH

17NOTES