What Is Fostering?

Our future lies in the hands of today's children- giving each of us the responsibility to help them reach their full potential... especially those who require a little extra nurturing.

Fostering is a way of providing family life for someone else's child in your own home when they are unable to live with their birth family. This can be due to many reasons; illness, relationship problems, family breakdown, or perhaps a situation where the child's welfare is threatened.   

Fostering differs from adoption, in that an adoption order ends a child's legal relationship with their natural family, whereas children in care remain the legal responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and/or their birth parents.

Foster carers provide a safe, secure and stable environment for these children and young people and the foster care placement can last for days, months or even years. Many children return home to their families but others may receive long-term support; either through continued fostering, adoption, residential care or by being helped to live independently.