The Western Health and Social Care Trust and HSC NI Foster Care held Kinship Care Appreciation Week from 20 to 26 April. The initiative highlights kinship foster carers who care for related children or those with existing relationships when parents cannot provide care. These carers include grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and close family friends.

Kinship care keeps children in their family and community networks. It provides familiarity and continuity during difficult periods. Children maintain connections to family, culture and community, which supports their identity, belonging and emotional wellbeing.

Michelle Quigley, Principal Social Worker for the Kinship Service in the Western Trust, stated that the week recognises the commitment of 350 kinship carers across the Trust. She noted their essential role in the wider care system in Northern Ireland. The Trust hosted events to celebrate these carers and their provision of stability.