Roscommon mother opens her home and her heart to young people 

Love is what it’s all about for Maura, a mother-of-three in County Roscommon, who has been a foster carer for more than 20 years, and who has provided four children with long-term care, more than a dozen with emergency care and another dozen with respite care, children aged from one day old to 18 years old.

She proudly points out that two of her long-term children have gone on to graduate with degrees.

“My own youngest was eight years old when I started. Every child has their own story – the children coming into emergency care were sometimes hungry and upset. My own children learned to share their toys with them and realised what they had compared to others.” Emergency care involves foster families taking a child in who needs a safe place to stay in an emergency, explains Maura. It can last for eight days and may be extended, depending on the circumstances.

Respite care supports the child, their parent(s) or foster carer(s) by providing a break for the child and their primary caregivers. “Respite is very good for foster parents,” says Maura. “It gives them a chance to recharge their batteries. With respite care you get to meet the child before they come to your house, so you get a feel for them, learn what food they like and what their routine is. It’s good for them, too, because they feel more comfortable about going into a different home.

“I cared for other people’s children before I began fostering, so my own were used to having other children in the house,” says Maura, who currently is supporting one 13-year-old child in emergency care and offering respite care every second weekend.

Like everything in life, there are challenges and rewards, and fostering is no different. That process is helped by the Care Plan that is put in place for each child – laying out what will happen every three or six months.

“Every year there is a review done on the placement; it’s a time when the child’s views are heard too,” says Maura, who says the supports are there for those who decide to be foster carers.

“Tusla provides good training for foster carers. First you apply, then there is a six-week course, then Garda vetting, and once you’re approved there is ongoing training as a foster care in areas like Children First, First Aid, and behaviour counselling. You meet regularly with your social worker, and I only have to lift the phone, and my social worker is there to help.” And there are always opportunities to learn… “As a mother of three, I thought I knew everything, but I realised I didn’t know as much as I thought. It has all proved very helpful, even for my own children in helping them understand the behaviours of some of the young people we support.” Maura says there are financial supports too, if she decides to have some respite time off for herself, too. However, the real rewards for her are in seeing the improvement that a caring home can have on young minds.

“When you see that child develop daily, over two or three years, you really see the benefits – that child might never have known what would happen tomorrow, what bed they would sleep in, or whether they would have breakfast or not… all the things we take for granted.” More than 20 years of caring has left her with memories for a lifetime, and moments when she wonders how her young children’s lives have developed since they left her home.

“It can be hard to say goodbye… you think about them, whether they are okay,” she says. “It has opened my eyes to what children go through and the advantages that respite care and fostering brings.” • Start your fostering journey today with Tusla Fostering. Join the community of foster carers and help keep children and young people in their local communities. It only takes one person to change a child’s life.

Call freephone 1800 226 771 or go to www.fostering.ie for further information. Follow at #Tuslafostering on Tusla’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube channels.