Adoption, fostering and residential care - East Sussex County Council

Adoption South East

This is a regional adoption agency. It is made up of:

• East Sussex County Council
• Brighton & Hove City Council
• Surrey County Council
• West Sussex County Council.

By joining our adoption services together, we bring the best practice and experience from each of the four local authorities. It is easier to match a child with an adopter in any of the councils.

It also means adopters, adoptive children and their birth families can use the combined services of the four authorities.

Fostering

Fostering offers children aged 0-18 a safe and caring family, while they are unable to live with their own, and provides an opportunity for other professionals to work with the birth family to help resolve their issues.

Our foster carers come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances, so that we meet the needs of children and young people we need to place into foster care.

People from all walks of life can make great foster carers with the right training and support.

We could list all the reasons why fostering could be a fulfilling life-choice for you, but listen to our existing foster carers put it into their words in our video.

Residential care

We look after children under 18, who are in care.

It provides a stable and safe place to live, with 24-hour support from skilled staff. Some young people may also benefit from a secure residential setting for a period.

Living away from home can be frustrating or upsetting at first. But we shall try to make residents comfortable and safe. The Council has several homes across the county. The homes we run provide safe, decent care. They focus on the individual needs of the children whilst also promoting a strong sense of group living.

Ofsted regulate and inspect the homes. This ensures they maintain proper standards of care.