The Boarded Out Practical Supports Service is a free national service available to any adult whether in Ireland or abroad who was boarded out as a child prior to the Child Care Act 1991.

The Boarded Out Service Community workers can visit people in their homes and communities or offer support over the phone.

Boarded Out is a term used to describe children who were raised with families other than their own in Ireland.

This was also referred to as been nursed out, farmed out or fostered out. 

This happened mainly between 1920 and 1970.

Children were boarded out in both urban and rural areas.

Some children were boarded out long term while other children experienced a short term placement before being sent to an Industrial school.

Older children were also boarded out from Industrial schools.

The service offers a wide range of practical supports including:

• Support to access to health, community and social services
• Support with isolation and loneliness
• Assistance in filling out forms and grant applications
• Advocacy, information and signposting
• Support to access Birth Information and Tracing Services
• Referral to Barnardos therapeutic supports

If you would like to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to contact me at this email address natalie.johnson@barnardos.ie or by phone 086-1681511.

If you would like to make a referral to this service, you can do so by sending a completed referral form to birthhistory@barnardos.ie.