The fundamental difference
Fostering is temporary care. You look after a child on behalf of the local authority or agency. The child's birth parents usually retain parental responsibility, and the goal is often reunification.
Adoption is permanent. You become the child's legal parent. Parental responsibility transfers fully to you, and the child becomes a permanent part of your family.
Key differences at a glance
- Duration: Fostering can be days, weeks, months, or years. Adoption is forever.
- Legal status: Foster carers do not have parental responsibility. Adoptive parents do.
- Financial support: Foster carers receive ongoing weekly allowances. Adoptive parents may receive an adoption allowance, but it's typically less and time-limited.
- Ongoing support: Foster carers receive regular social worker visits, training, and supervision. Adoptive parents receive post-adoption support, but less structured ongoing contact.
- Contact with birth family: Foster children usually maintain contact with their birth family. Adopted children may have limited or no contact.
- Age of children: Foster children can be any age from birth to 18. Most children placed for adoption are under 5.
Which is right for me?
Consider fostering if you:
- Want to help children during a difficult period in their lives
- Are comfortable with temporary care and children moving on
- Want regular professional support and training
- Would like to maintain a carer role rather than a parental one
- Want financial support through allowances
Consider adoption if you:
- Want to grow your family permanently
- Are ready to take on full parental responsibility
- Want a child to be a permanent, legal member of your family
- Are comfortable with less structured ongoing support
Can I do both?
Yes — some people start by fostering and later adopt a child they've been caring for (this is called "foster to adopt" or concurrent planning). It's also possible to foster some children while parenting adopted children.
Many foster carers say they appreciate the ongoing professional support, training, and financial stability that fostering provides compared to adoption.