Fostering offers an alternative for disabled

AN alternative solution to placing people with severe intellectual disabilities into institutionalised care services is to recruit professional foster families to provide a real home and real relationships to people.

A project, spearheaded by the Brothers of Charity in Galway, studied the experiences of 46 participants with intellectual disabilities across the six Brothers of Charity regions.

Headed up by Dr Brian McClean, a psychologist with the organisation, the project explored options such as professional neighbours, remote support and supervision and unpaid housemates to examine whether people with intellectual disabilities can form real lifestyles without recourse to expensive institutionalised care services.