Motion or amendment: Increasing the Number of Foster Carers
Motion or amendment by Mrs Diane Dodds on .
- MLA
- Mrs Diane Dodds
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 19 March 2024
- Type
- Motion or amendment
- Business
- Motion · Private Members' Motion
- Heading
- Increasing the Number of Foster Carers
- Assembly identifier
- Document 394607
Read the official Assembly record Open Data source
Text
Increasing the Number of Foster Carers
That this Assembly commends the vital contribution of foster carers throughout Northern Ireland; believes that the provision of a safe, loving and nurturing home can transform the lives of children and young people in care, helping them to reach their full potential; is deeply alarmed that whilst the number of children and young people in care in Northern Ireland is at its highest level since 1995, there are fewer people willing to foster; expresses regret at the finding of a poll commissioned by Barnardo’s Northern Ireland indicating that just 2 per cent of respondents in Northern Ireland would consider fostering a child in the next five years; stresses the need to address the many misconceptions about fostering; reiterates the fact that fostering can be a hugely beneficial experience for the entire family, including birth children; stresses the importance of providing greater financial support for foster/kinship foster carers in order to cover the costs of caring for children and young people; and calls on the Minister of Health to launch a new, ambitious and fully resourced recruitment programme.
183 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Also tabled by
Each MLA who tabled or co-signed this item has their own record:
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.93 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.79 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.17 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.02 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 08:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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