The Health and Social Care Board has secured additional funding approved by the Department of Health to support foster carers during the current Covid 19 pandemic.
This financial support will be made available to all foster carers across Northern Ireland for a period of up to 12 weeks commencing in June 2020 and will be kept under review as circumstances change.
Foster carers provide care for children looked after by our social services teams across the region when they are unable to live with their parent/s. Through fostering, a child has the opportunity to live in a loving, safe and stable home for as long as they need.
This new funding which equates to an extra 20% of the weekly food and household allowance foster carers received for children in their care, will assist with extra food household costs given children are at home all day..
Speaking about the important role our foster carers play in supporting vulnerable children, Marie Roulston, Director of Social Care and Children with the HSCB commented:
“Foster Carers provide 24/7 care for almost all of children and young people who are looked after across Northern Ireland, these children and young people have often had a tough start in life but are some of the most resilient and superb Children you could come across. Anything we can do to support them by supporting their foster carers is welcome.
“I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our Foster carers for the love and compassion that they show in caring for our children, especially so during the unpredictable and uncertain times since the Corona Virus pandemic affected us all.”
Mrs Roulston added: “This additional funding secured by the HSCB is in addition to an initial £100 per fostering household that was provided by Health and Social Care Trusts at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown to enable carers to buy games, craft material etc for children who were no longer at school and extends the supports available to foster carers.”
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