Fostering in Northern Ireland
When you join Foster Care Associates Northern Ireland you will be joining a region that is caring, supportive and passionate about fostering.
Welcome to Foster Care Associates Northern Ireland
FCA Northern Ireland was established in 2003 and since this time, we have continued to grow year on year. We are now the largest independent fostering agency in Northern Ireland.
Foster Care Associates Northern Ireland is a therapeutic foster care agency that specialises in the care of children who have experienced developmental trauma and deprivation. The model and ethos at FCA is Team Parenting, a therapeutic wrap-around service providing support for the child in all aspects of their lives, to facilitate recovery. At FCA we have a multi-disciplinary team with experienced trauma-informed professionals including therapeutic foster parents, supervising social workers, an education officer, children’s support workers and a psychoanalyst.
Get in touch today
By Phone
One of our team is available to talk to you over the phone to answer any of your fostering queries.
Visit an office
Foster Care Associates, Units 7 Belmont Office Park, 232-240 Belmont Rd, Belfast, BT4 2AW
Last year, from the Health and Social Care Trust, FCA Northern Ireland had over 314 referrals of children and young people who desperately needed a foster family to provide a safe, stable and caring home. Every year this number increases and so we urge anyone considering becoming a foster parent to contact us today.
We are so different in so many ways and this makes us stand out from the crowd and attracts new foster parents to work with us and become part of our FCA Northern Ireland family.
Benefits of working with FCA
24/7 advice service
Excellent ongoing training
Access to your local fostering team
Competitive payments
Local support groups
Local social activities and events
How do Foster Care Associates offer support in Northern Ireland?
Fostering with Foster Care Associates Northern Ireland is such a rewarding experience. Our experienced team of fostering professionals will provide you with the highest levels of local support. We'll make sure you never feel alone and you’ll instantly be welcomed into our fostering family. If you need us to, we can also provide someone to talk to who understands what it’s like to be part of a fostering family.
- 24/7 local support: including monthly support groups, local support groups and therapeutic groups.
- Team Parenting: a regional and national network of childcare experts who may work with each child or young person to care for every single area of their wellbeing.
- Training and Development.
- Independent advice with a FREE membership to FosterTalk.
- A comprehensive events and activities calendar.
- Online support: access to a portal to read about everything happening at Foster Care Associates, plus access to discounts to a range of sites.
- Foster Carer Appreciation Day.
- Foster parents get rewarded for their hard work in changing children's lives, that's why we offer a generous fostering allowance.
Here to support you
Although a small region our office is full of personality and pride in the fact that we are helping ordinary people do extraordinary things. All of our foster parents have a dedicated qualified social work, access to a range of training and development, local support groups as well as our team being available for support and guidance 24/7. Our therapist is also on hand to offer services such Team Parenting network meetings, carer consultation and support for children and young people
We also work alongside the administration, placements and assessments teams. We may all look different, have different personalities but one thing is certain, from the Regional Manager down, all staff have the same goal and that is to help those children and young people who are referred to us from the local Trusts, who may have complex needs and behaviours and who need our entire FCA family’s support.
It’s not just our foster parents that get the support, our foster children and young people get support from a supervising social worker and from our education officer. There are virtual / online group activities for different age groups and there is always a listening ear and support for children and young people in our foster care in Northern Ireland.
Activities for children and young people
We plan and arrange a diverse range of activities and events for everyone involved in the foster family. These include regular parties at Easter, Halloween and Christmas, more often than not with bouncy castles and inflatables. There are arts and crafts, beach and nature walks, bowling, cinema trips and seasonal pantomimes.
Not forgetting all the other fun things we do such as days out at; We are Vertigo Belfast Activity Centre, Fortevergreen family day out and Ardnavally. There really is so much that we offer.
We encourage all of our fostering families to get involved. It's a great way to meet other families or catch up with friends. You will also have the opportunity to meet the regional team and build support networks all whilst having an enjoyable time.
Foster parent satisfaction survey
Statement of purpose
We have always felt so supported by our supervising social worker and FCA as a whole, it feels like a real family.
If you’re already a foster parent, find out how easy it is to transfer to us
Welcome from Ciara Doyle, Registered Manager
Hello and welcome to the FCA Northern Ireland page. Please take your time to have a browse and find out more about who we are and how we support our fostering families to achieve positive outcomes for all of our children and young people.
Our team at FCA Northern Ireland are passionate about the work we do on a daily basis. We have a wealth of knowledge and expertise within the team, which enables us to provide a very high standard of care and support.
We feel privileged to get to work with our wonderful foster families and of course our children and young people.
If you would like to find out more about fostering, please do not hesitate and get in touch, we’d love to speak to you.
Meet the Northern Ireland team
Aimee Carlisle
Education Co-ordinator
Danielle Chapman
Referrals Manager
Ciara Doyle
Registered Manager
Heather Miskimmin
Office Manager
Amy White
Senior Supervising Social Worker
Judith Mayne
Senior Supervising Social Worker
Catherine Weatherup
Senior Supervising Social Worker
Leanne Matthews
Senior Administrator
Valerie McVeigh
Senior Administrator
Gillian Lynas
Participation Officer
Patrick Devlin
Fostering Service Manager
