Understandably many foster carers form close bonds with the children in their care, can become involved in that child/children’s wider family and sometimes can want to make applications to the Court themselves in respect of either a child in their care or, for example, that child’s sibling who may be elsewhere.
Foster carers may only apply for Orders relating to the children (what are known as Section 8 Orders) if they can meet one of the following exceptions:-
- That the Local Authority have given consent to the application;
- That the foster carers were related to the child or children concerned;
- That the child or children have been in the foster carer’s care for at least one year before making the application.
An example of this is a recent case which established that the long term foster carers for one child could not seek to make an application to the Court in relation to one of that child’s older siblings.
There is therefore in all circumstances other than the exceptions listed above a bar on non-relative foster carers making applications to the Court concerning children in their care or their siblings. Of course even if a foster carer met one of the exceptions it is anticipated they would need to get permission from the Court before being able to make the application itself.