Family Reading

Transferring fostering services

The transfer of foster carers between fostering services is governed by a protocol which has been agreed with the main fostering organisations and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

The most recent version of the protocol was published in 2014, and reviewed in 2019 alongside the newly developed guiding principles. The principles of the transfer protocol recognise that all foster carers have the right to freedom of movement between fostering services, and that fostering services should not coerce or entice foster carers to transfer to a new service in order to ensure a foster child continues to live with them. 

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The transfer protocol 2014 is compliant with the requirements of The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (as amended) taking into account the legislative changes which came into force on 1 July 2013. The Transfer Protocol recommends that good practice guidelines are followed when an approved foster carer wishes to transfer from one fostering service to another, however they are not mandatory.

The guiding principles seek to reinforce the ethos of child-centered care planning and decision making in fostering, and that financial factors alone should not determine whether a child moves foster homes. 

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We have a range of information about changes to your terms of approval as a foster carer, including exemptions to the fostering limit and how they are made. Read more here.