Short-term fostering is the most common type of fostering. It involves a foster carer looking after a child or young person for as long as is needed until they can return home, move to live with extended family, move to live with their adoptive family, or are matched with a long-term foster carer. This can vary from a few days to several months, and in some cases may be longer than a year.
Some fostering services will approve emergency foster carers who will take children at very short notice, at any time of the day or night, and care for them for a maximum length of time (e.g., up to two or four weeks), before they return home, move onto a short-term foster carer or move to live with extended family.
