Fostering in NI

[Bee42]

I am thinking of giving up work to become a full time Foster carer but I am confused as to the best place to apply to. Does anyone have any experience re the private agencies within NI?

Hi bee there are not too many users on this board from NI. We are adopters who were previously foster carers hoping to get back to fostering soon.

In NI there are a number of private agencies. The ones I know most about are Barbados’s and kinder care. I think the support is quite good from both of them. If you need the money to survive then the fee is higher with the private agencies rather than with the trusts, however you may wait longer between placements with an agency. The trusts will always place with their own carers first before looking outside to an agency.

The trusts have various fostering schemes, some of which pay a salary as well as board and out allowance, depending on the age and needs of the child/REN. If they want someone to be at home full time they will usually pay a salary. Don’t rule the trust out.

Have you looked at the health and social care board fostering website?
adoptionandfostercare.hscni.net/

They are still taking expressions of interest at the moment and arranging initial chats via zoom. It would be worth a call. You could also ring the fostering network ni to ask them about private agencies etc.

www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/

Also there is a faith based charity Home for Good in Northern Ireland who support and encourage foster carers and people who are considering fostering. There main purpose is to support Christians to become foster carers and can link people up with foster carers in similar situations to help them explore their options.

homeforgood.org.uk/connect-locally/northern-ireland

Thanks for your response. The financial side of things is my biggest worry. I didn't realise the trusts pay a salary.
Is there generally a long wait between placements? That could be an issue for me too financially. I know fostering is about so much more than the money but at the end of the day I still have a mortgage and bills to pay

It can vary! You can move very quickly from one placement to the next (a few nights or a month). To be honest if you have a wide age range then you will probably always be in use. Some of the schemes do pay a salary to ensure you are always available. You would be paid a salary alongside the board and out allowance. If you had no placement you would continue to be paid to the salary. Some of such schemes are mother and baby placementS, fostering teenagers, children with severe medical needs etc. I would not automatically rule out fostering for the trust. Definitely worth a phone call and a chat.