Contact Information
- Address
- Slemish Community Services Centre, Braid Valley Hospital Site, Ballymena, Co Antrim, BT43 6HL
- Contact Person
- Rosie Orr
- Telephone Number
- 028 2563 5110
- Email Address
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Email
- Web Address
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Visit Website
Additional Information
The Northern Trust is an Adoption Agency and as such has a statutory to provide a comprehensive adoption service to meet the needs of children who have been adopted, parents of such children and persons who have adopted a child or wish to adopt a child.
Adoption is the legal process by which a child or children become full time, permanent and legal members of a new family. Following the granting of an Adoption Order, this new family has full parental rights and responsibilities for the adopted child.
The process of adoption involves extensive preparation and assessment by specially trained social workers, matching and placing of children as recommended by the Adoption Panel and final decision made by the Adoption Decision Maker.
Below are further details about the different teams involved in the Adoption Process.
Family Placement Teams
There are four family placement teams within the Northern Trust area. The Family Placement Team provides an extensive service to families who are considering becoming adoptive parents, birth parents who are considering adoption or adults who have been adopted, including:
Preparation Training for all persons who are considering adoption
Undertaking assessments and providing completed comprehensive reports of prospective adoptive parents to the Adoption Panel for approval
Ongoing training and support for adoptive parents
Preparation and placement of children within their new adoptive family
Support and guidance to individuals who have previously been adopted and wish to trace their birth relatives
Counselling to birth parents who are considering placing their child for adoption
Working closely with relevant teams and agencies to provide best support to adoptive and birth families
Foster Care
The Foster Care Service undertakes the assessment, recruitment, training and management of foster carers. The majority of children looked after by the Trust, are in foster care.
Fostering work within the Trust involves:
Recruitment of foster carers through ongoing advertising, radio interviews and articles for media and various projects and events throughout the year to raise awareness of the need for foster carers.
Provision of information packs on fostering, information evenings on fostering and a six module ‘Skills to Foster Course’ (preparation for fostering).
Home study assessment of applicants. This is then presented to the Foster Care Panel for approval.
Social Workers within the team also help to develop the skills of foster carers by providing support in their link social worker role and annually reviewing all foster carers and respite carers with a view to reconfirmation of approval. Supporting local Foster Care Groups and a Development and Training programme for foster carers.
Family Placement Teams
There are four Family Placements Teams located throughout the Trust who carry out home-study assessments of prospective foster carers through the assessment process and provide ongoing support. They also carry out adoption reports and assessment of kinship carers. They provide ongoing link work support as supervising social workers to foster carers undertake local recruitment initiatives, support prospective foster carers through the assessment process and provide ongoing support to our current foster carers.
Contact Details
Coleraine Family Placement Team
Route House
Route Complex
Ballymoney
BT53 6BP
02827661521 ext 3621
Ballymena Family Placement Team
Slemish Community Services Centre
Braid Valley Hospital Site
Ballymena
BT43 6HL
Tel: 028 2563 5110
Magherafelt Family Placement Team
Children’s Services
Sperrin House
43 Queens Avenue
Magherafelt
BT45 6BY
Tel: 028 7936 6840
Carrickfergus Family Placement Team
Ellis Street
Family Resource Centre
Carrickfergus
BT38 8AZ
Tel: 028 9331 5111
The Specialist Fostering Team
The Trust’s Specialist Fostering Team deals with recruitment of foster carers and processes fostering enquiries from the general public with interest in foster care. The Team provides information and advice and deals with the initial stages of assessment of prospective foster carers as well as raising the profile of fostering in the Northern Trust.
The team also provide specialist placements for children within the care system and support and link work to all of the Trusts fee paid and specialist foster carers. In addition, the Foster Carer Training Coordinator is also established within the team and delivers and coordinates training throughout the year through the Trusts Training & Development Program.
Contact details
Specialist Fostering Team
Tel: 0300 123 1155
email: foster4.nt@northerntrust.hscni.net
- Available to Age Groups
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All Ages
- Category of Services
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- Adoption Fostering & Looked After Children
- Areas covered
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- Method of Access (Referral)
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