| Most young people are usually taken into care because they’re lacking good parenting. |
There must be something wrong with young people who live in care - at least that seems to be a common view held by many.
Harry Barry, Director of VOYPIC, which was set up to give young people in care a voice and inform policy makers and Social Services about their views, said this perception is wrong and must be challenged.
"I was at a wedding and was introduced as somebody who had worked with the groom when he was in care. His mother-in-law asked what did he do wrong?"
"Most young people are usually taken into care because they're lacking good parenting. It is the last possible option because they're not safe or it's not going to work at home," he added.
In Northern Ireland, there are more than 2,200 children in some form of public care; 65 percent are in foster care and more that 500 young people are waiting to be placed in care. Recently, a drive to recruit 200 new foster carers was launched, as part of the Northern Ireland Foster Care Awareness campaign.
"There are just not enough foster care volunteers to keep up with demand, which is why the campaign is so important," said Gerry McCluskey of Barnardos Professional Fostering Project.
VOYPIC development worker Kelly Collins, who lived in care as a teenager believes children in care face problems every day, and can feel isolated. Often there can be a certain stigma attached to living in care, which can be difficult to deal with.
"You may go to a school where you are the only person who is in care, people might know that you're not living with your real family and rumour about that kind of thing spreads," she added.
There is an ongoing debate about the issue of putting children into residential care versus placing them in foster homes. Most people working in the care field agree that a family home environment is the ideal but they also recognise it does not work for some children. Ms Collins said policy makers should listen carefully to the views of young people on what they want to happen.
"There's as many young people saying: we don't want to be fostered, especially teenagers. They'd prefer to be in residential care or a children's home," she said.
Mr Barry agreed: "Residential care is portrayed as a very bad thing. Care maybe didn't give them the best start that they could have had, but it gave them a better start than they would have had from their own homes."
About the team
This article was produced by Danielle Ferrin, 15 and Katriona McCartan, 13. It was published in the News Letter in Northern Ireland.
