What does fostering mean?
Foster carers look after children temporarily as if they were their own but do not have parental responsibility for the children.
This remains with the birth parents or the local authority or sometimes is shared between the local authority and the birth parents as a result of a court order.
This means that important decisions about the child, for instance which school they should attend, continue to be made by the parents or local authority while the foster carers are responsible for the child's every-day care and needs.
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