Foster families
Foster families allow the shelter to take in more animals than it has kennels for. The shelter manages them in the Shelter app; each family follows the animal it is fostering from the free Son Espace Santé app, in a "Foster family" space.
The list of foster families
Open the side menu, Organization section, then Foster families. You can also reach it from Settings, My shelter block.
The page shows, from top to bottom:
- the Expense claims to validate;
- the Foster family applications received through your website;
- your families, with the species they accept, the animals they are fostering and pending expense claims.
The Available for… (species) field filters the families, to quickly answer the question "who can take this cat tonight?".
Adding a foster family
- Tap Add in the action bar.
- Enter the First name, Last name, Email, Phone number and Address.
- Indicate whether they are Available to welcome an animal, the Species accepted (for example: cats, small dogs), their Capacity (animals at the same time) and your Notes.
- Tap Save.
If the family does not have the app yet, tap Invite to the app from the list. They receive an email with a login link: their Son Espace Santé account is created (or linked to their existing account). The family is then marked Has the app.
Placing an animal in a foster family
- Open the animal's profile, then in the status block tap Change the status and choose Foster family.
- On the Place in foster family screen, choose the family (unavailable families are flagged).
- Under Placement, enter the Start date and the Expenses of the family: Reimbursed, Donated or None.
- Write the Instructions for the family (food, care, visits…).
- Leave Still proposed for adoption ticked if the animal should stay visible on your website during the foster placement.
- Tap Place the animal.
The animal switches to the Foster family status and the shelter remains its owner. The family receives write access to this animal's profile only: logbook, weight, photos. In the paid plans, a dated foster agreement is generated automatically and stored in the animal's documents; a Contract link appears in the status block.
To end the placement, change the animal's status to Adoptable: the family's access is removed. If the family adopts the animal, create their file from the Adoption section of the profile (see Online adoption).
To hand the animal over to another family without going back through « Adoptable », tap Change foster family in the status block, choose the new family and the Date of the change, then tap Change foster family. The current placement ends that day and the next one starts the same day, with the same instructions (which you can edit); access to the record moves from one family to the other. The animal keeps the Foster family status.
Association without a shelter: « Foster families only »
If your association has no premises and all your animals live in foster families, open Settings, My shelter block, How your association works, choose Foster families only and tap Save. The same choice is offered by the setup assistant when you first open the app.
The app then hides what assumes premises:
- the Plan, the Box column of the animal list, the QR codes and the box sheet;
- Tracking (volunteers checking in and out), meal and walk follow-up and the Late meals card on the home page;
- the Animal walk member right and the « Can go out in a paddock / in a group » option;
- the Walk, Feeding, Cleaning and Front desk slots of the planning (Vet transport and the other slots remain).
It puts your foster families forward: the Foster families entry moves up in the menu and joins the button bar, the animal list shows the Foster family column and the Without a foster family filter, and the To process block of the home page flags the animals in your care that do not have a family yet.
Nothing is deleted: by switching back to With a shelter, you find your plan and check-ins again. The entry and exit registers remain mandatory (see Shelter registers and animal exits); the foster family with which the animal is placed on the day of its arrival appears on its entry line.
Expense claims
The family declares its expenses (kibble, vet, equipment…) with a receipt from its space. They appear under Expense claims to validate, with a counter on the shelter's Homepage. For each one:
- Reimburse: the shelter reimburses the family;
- Waived (receipt): the family waives reimbursement and receives a tax receipt for waived expenses (see Donations and tax receipts);
- Refuse.
Recruiting families from your website
Add the "Become a foster family" block to your website (see Public page and website). Applicants describe their home, the animals already there, their availability and the species they accept, then confirm their application by email.
In the list of foster families, each application offers Accept and invite (the family is created and receives the invitation), Contacted or Refuse.
On the family's side: the "Foster family" space
In the Son Espace Santé app, the family finds Foster family in the button bar (Foster) and in the side menu, Management section, as long as an animal is entrusted to them. For each animal fostered, they see how long it has been with them, the Instructions of the shelter and the Contract, and have the following buttons:
- Journal and Weight to keep the animal's record (see Logbook and Weight tracking);
- Expense claim: first choose the photo or PDF of the receipt, then enter the amount and the purpose of the expense, and tap Send;
- Contact the shelter.
The space also reminds them of the expense arrangement set by the shelter, and the state of each expense claim (submitted, approved, reimbursed, waived with the receipt number, refused).
Frequently asked questions
Does the family become the animal's owner?
No. The shelter remains the owner; the family only has write access to the profile during the placement.
The "Foster family" entry does not appear.
It is only shown when a placement is under way for that account. Check that the family accepted the invitation with the right email address.