Welcome to Northern Ireland's Health and Social Care (HSC) Fostering Service
There are around 2,500 children and young people in care in Northern Ireland. Currently 1,700 of these children and young people being looked after by HSC Trusts are living with foster carers.
Fostering provides children who cannot live with their own families for whatever reason
with alternative care where they can benefit from a loving, safe and
stable home for as long as they need it. Some children will need a nurturing home for a short time, others will
need a home until they reach independence.
The five HSC Trusts have statutory
responsibility for the welfare of all 'Looked After' children in
Northern Ireland. As such, they are in the best position to place
children with foster carers.
There are currently over 1,900 HSC foster
carers - made up of emergency, short term, long term, kinship (friend / family)
and respite carers.
There is an urgent need for more foster carers in Northern Ireland.
The Trusts would be delighted to hear from caring people who
feel they have time and space in their lives for fostering.
Applications will be considered by individuals irrespective of age,
gender, race, religion, marital status, income, working arrangements
or sexual orientation.
Our foster carers receive financial allowances,
ongoing training and 24 hour fostering social work support to help them fulfil this vital
role.
There are children across NI waiting for a
foster home today. You could brighten up their world by becoming a
HSC foster carer.
'Could You be a Foster Carer?' poem by Michael Sharkey, foster carer (PDF - 56kb)