New approach supports families in Wales and Northern Ireland

Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden was in Belfast this week to learn more about a successful pioneering approach which is helping to reduce the number of children entering care and is now being piloted in Wales.

The Fostering Network Step-Up Step-Down (SUSD) project sees specialist, highly trained family support foster carers work with the whole family to help stabilise their circumstances, offer short breaks for children and give parents time to address their challenges with support.

In Northern Ireland, between 2016 and 2023, the SUSD supported 183 children with 95% remaining with their parents rather than being taken into care. 109 parents and carers have also been supported in that time.

Pilot

The Welsh Government has provided £879,000 to the Fostering Network over a three-year period to pilot the SUSD programme within Pembrokeshire and Powys local authority areas in Wales.

The programme is supporting those on the edge of care and will help improve outcomes for children and families. Engaging families in co-producing the types of support and activities to best meet their needs is key to its success.

An evaluation of the programme will continue throughout the pilot with the final report set to be published in March 2026.

Vision

Minister for Children and Social Care, Dawn Bowden said: “The Welsh Government has a vision to radically transform the experience of children looked after in Wales.

“At the heart of this work, is seeing fewer children and young people needing to enter care. For those who do, we want their stay to be as short as possible and meet their needs as close to home as possible so they can continue to be part of their community.

“I have been pleased to learn about the success of the Step-Up Step-Down project in Northern Ireland in keeping families together, and to hear directly from those families who have benefitted from the project.

“The pilot in Wales is progressing positively and I look forward to hearing more about how this new approach is working for families on the edge of care.”

Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I am proud to say that the Step Up, Step Down programme was developed in Northern Ireland. It uses foster carers’ unique skills and expertise to support children and families on the edge of care to stay together and create stable family relationships.

“By supporting children to remain with their families with the support of a foster carer, providing mentoring support and short breaks is an approach which has resulted in many children remaining safely at home here.

“At its heart, the service focuses on facilitating meaningful and consistent relationships, understanding attachment and trauma, and ensuring the child is at the heart of the service. I want to thank Minister Bowden for her interest, and I hope that our Welsh colleagues can take learning back to inform their policy decisions.”