Need some advice

stalkinginengland

Well-Known Member
Hello gentlemen. We have had some family changes that I wont go into and it has left my wife and I seriously concidering fostering our niece. We have thought about it a lot but there is a niggle in the back of my mind, something I heard somewhere, that the social services dont allow you to foster if you have firearms in the house. I wonder if any of you have the same situation or first hand knowledge. I may be wrong about this and probably am, but before we approch anyone or go into this in any more depth I would like your views.

Many thanks in advance

Mark
 
hi,

. i would advise you to contact your Flo or your local social services. That way you have it from the horses mouth and there is no room for misinterpretation and disappointment.

wish you and yours the best through this
 
Mark,

I can't help you with your question, but I would be mortified if holding a FAC would go against you in a situation such as this! I wish you well and hope things work out.

ATB

Tom
 
Echo CBS sentiments in wishing you luck.

Regardless of the outcome, the thought of a child being offered a loving home being scuppered because of some misconstrued policy if that is the case, is beyond me.
 
hi,

. i would advise you to contact your Flo or your local social services. That way you have it from the horses mouth and there is no room for misinterpretation and disappointment.

wish you and yours the best through this

+1 on that !

on sticky and personal situations like this alway head for the feo !

cheers lee
 
something I heard somewhere, that the social services dont allow you to foster if you have firearms in the house.

I don't know either, but the face of it, this sounds to me like it ought to be 'political correctness gone mad' yarn of dubious provenance; but you never know, I suppose, until you ask.

As your firearms ownership is entirely lawful, I'd be tempted just to proceed with the application on the basis that holding firearms on a FAC is lawful and should if anything support a fostering application, as it demonstrates police-checked good standing and responsibility; but if you wanted to avoid last-minute disappointment I guess the people to ask would be the fostering people - I'm not sure what authority the FLD would have to answer this question.
 
- I'm not sure what authority the FLD would have to answer this question.

probably very little but if you have them on your side from day one then you will never have an issue.
always keep firearms licensing on your side and give them their place.
As the Op asked he heard his ownership may cause issues they may offer him advice and possible assistance.
 
We as FAC holders have been checked out by the highest information holding authority in the land and found to be decent upstanding individuals so you would think that would be an asset, not a hindrance..
 
The only thing I could find on the internet was a couple of local authority websites saying that foster children should not be involved in shooting activities (including beating) without the written permission of their parents and foster manager. The only other requirements were that you had the appropriate SGC/FAC and the guns were secure. Good luck to you.
 
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Through drugs misuse children were removed from the home. The grandmother had possession. Perminent rehoming was prohibited and the girls went to live with the other set of grand parents. Reason beggars belief. The grandmother is a life long Christian. Her bookcase was full of Christian books. Social services denied the application on grounds the grandmother was a Christian fanatic, rules are made up to suit the beliefs of the SS.
jim
 
Hello gentlemen. We have had some family changes that I wont go into and it has left my wife and I seriously concidering fostering our niece. We have thought about it a lot but there is a niggle in the back of my mind, something I heard somewhere, that the social services dont allow you to foster if you have firearms in the house. I wonder if any of you have the same situation or first hand knowledge. I may be wrong about this and probably am, but before we approch anyone or go into this in any more depth I would like your views.

Many thanks in advance

Mark

Hi Mark, i to wont go into much detail, 3yrs ago my Grandson was taking into care I am now have a "Full Special Gaurdenship" untill he is 18yrs old. The prosedure was intence, but i have a bit of a past and hold both SGC and FAC. if you want a chat feel free to PM mate
 
A stalking pal took on a kid with some emotional problems, firearms were not an issue so long as the kid couldn't access the room where they were kept. They also said that he couldn't take the boy out shooting or allow him to handle any firearms without it in writing.

edit, that was cumbria
 
Hello gentlemen. We have had some family changes that I wont go into and it has left my wife and I seriously concidering fostering our niece.

Good for you Mark.

My wife and I provide respite foster care for children located locally but rehoused from a local authority area some distance away for various reasons. It's never been an issue for us and hopefully will not provide any obstruction for you either. there are likely to be a number of other unrelated hoops to jump through though, and each social services department will have their own criteria that must be satisfied before you get the green light. I'll try not to put too much of a damper on it, but being related to the child will most likely not be the most important thing they will be looking for.

Best of luck with it all.
 
I've had dealings with such circumstances a few times now,in one instance where a certificate holder became a foster parent he was advised that he could no longer keep his firearms/shotguns in the house if he wanted to be successful and ended up keeping them at his sons house ( this I was led to believe was because one of the panel members was against guns ) but worse than that he wasn't even allowed to use them to control vermin on the small farm he lived on,in fact no-one was allowed to shoot on the land !! In another case all that was required was the panel members to be satisfied that the person was safe and that all guns were secure,I verified that all was in order as far as I was concerned and he was successful in his fostering application.i think it depends on where you are and/or who is dealing with your application process. Best of luck anyway.
 
Hi BWS
As some of the other guys have said, just be very careful how you go about things, be upfront and open - never appear defensive or evasive.
I found out to my utter amazement that my holding of an FAC, my ownership of firearms and my display of trophies in my home (including photos) was used as "evidence" of my "aggression, braggard personality and insensitivity for others" by the opposition (ex-wife) in a child access hearing.
That little lot took more than a year to sort out,
Best of luck mate
Geo
 
Thank you all for being so honest and open about this delicate subject. The PMs have been very helpful but also some have been upsetting in some ways. Thank you all for your frankness and advice.

Kindest regards to you all

Mark
 
One of my oldest shooting friends fosters teenagers and is involved in interviewing prospective forster families. He has had no problem with his FAC or Shotgun cert.
The only thing I'm aware of is that he had to do a risk assesment for his dogs.
Good luck.

Ezzy
 
Hello mate i too heard that your not allowed to fosters if you have firearms but as iv nevered fostered im not a 100% how true this is but would love to know the answer i wish both you and your wife all th e best in your quest i honestly hope it has a very outcome for you all
 
A good way of finding the true lay of the land on this one, would be to ask the advice of a good family law solicitor, those who deal with this area on a daily basis.
 
A good friend currently fosters a child. He has SGC and FAC. Questions were asked and demands to inspect his security. He responded by answering questions politely but declined there demands to inspect by stating that the Police had already inspected his security and it was deemed up to Home Office requirements, and what qualifications does the panel have to assess his security arangements with regards to firearms. He also stated that the fewer people who new where his guns were kept then the more secure they would be. His wife then went on to ask why they were concerned about guns to which no-one other than her husband had access, yet had no concerns about a dozen razor sharp kitchen knives to which the whole family had access.

After being with the family for some time now he is a junior member at a rifle club with the authorisation of the social services, again questions were asked - answered politely stating that the range was approved. Again asking the panel what qualifications they held to inspect firearms ranges.

Be upfront and confident, you are participating in a lawfull pastime and have satisfied the people who have the expertise and qualifications to judge suitability.
 
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