Long-term fostering provides a child or young person with stability by supporting them to live as part of a foster family until they reach adulthood. Foster carers have greater autonomy in making everyday parenting decisions, helping the child to feel fully included in family life. This arrangement — sometimes called a permanence plan — promotes stability and more positive outcomes for children in care.
To learn more about fostering in general, read our article What is Fostercare?
According to the Fostering Network, long-term foster care plays a vital role in ensuring children have secure and lasting relationships.
At New Chapters, around 85% of children are in long-term placements. This may be because:
Long-term fostering enables children to experience a safe, nurturing and therapeutic family life. While the Local Authority remains involved, visits to the foster home are usually less frequent than in short-term fostering, helping the child feel a greater sense of belonging. Many children also maintain safe contact with their birth family, and some live alongside their siblings or their foster carers’ birth children. These stable, family-based relationships can be transformative.
As Hazel, one of our long-term foster carers supporting siblings, explains:
“It’s a privilege and joy seeing the strong bonds siblings have, and the support and comfort they provide each other. It is truly humbling and beautiful to be part of their journey and to give a safe space to grow.”
Research shows that long-term foster care has a profound impact on children’s lives, often helping them to thrive after very difficult starts. CoramBAAF research highlights the positive permanence outcomes that long-term fostering can provide.
Children in long-term foster care benefit from:
For foster carers, it offers the opportunity to watch a child grow up, celebrate milestones, and make a lasting difference in their lives.
Long-term fostering is one of the most rewarding roles a carer can take on. Julie, one of our experienced carers, describes it this way:
“I feel blessed to have experienced being a foster parent and I am sure I wouldn't have lasted without all the people at New Chapters that supported me through the challenging times. The training provided by New Chapters is the best training I have ever received by far — I learnt so much, and it improved the way I nurture and understand the young people that came to live with me.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between long-term and short-term fostering?
Short-term fostering is usually temporary, supporting a child until they can return home, move to adoption, or transfer to another placement. Long-term fostering provides stability until the child reaches adulthood, often referred to as a permanence plan.
How long does long-term fostering last?
Long-term fostering generally continues until the young person is 18. In some cases, support arrangements (like Staying Put) can extend beyond this age to help with the transition to independence.
Do children in long-term foster care still see their birth families?
Where it is safe and in the child’s best interests, contact with birth family members can continue. The Local Authority and fostering agency will help manage this contact.
What support do long-term foster carers receive?
Carers receive regular supervision, training, financial allowances, and access to a support network of other foster carers. At New Chapters, we also offer therapeutic guidance and 24/7 support. For a full breakdown of the financial side, visit our page on Foster Care Pay and Allowances.
Can siblings be placed together in long-term foster care?
Yes. Wherever possible, siblings are placed together to maintain important family bonds. New Chapters has long-term placements where brothers and sisters live together in foster families.
