Fostering Network appeal for more carers in Northern Ireland
One hundred new foster carers are needed in Northern Ireland, according to a leading charity.
The Fostering Network said that without more carers, growing numbers of children may be forced to live in residential care.
They may also have to move a long way from their family home or be separated from their siblings.
Kate Lewis, director of the charity, said they needed people who could commit for longer periods of time.
"For a number of children, long-term permanent foster care is what they require," she said.
"That really is to give children a chance to grow up in families, to be with brothers and sisters and to have a real sort of sense of a bond with a family - that is where the big need is now."