Despite the impression created by the huge numbers of children in institutions and other types of formal alternative care around the world, by far the majority of children not cared for by their parents, are not in formal alternative care. Most of them are already taken in by their extended families, right at this moment, without any additional awareness raising or support. This is something worth building on.
However, just like there are some children who will not be able to be cared for by their parents, no matter how much support they receive and how great the community services available are, there will also be children who do not have extended family members able to take them in and care for them. For them other family-based solutions need to be found.
When there is no option of placing a child in a safe environment in his own family, another family should be found for him. This is where foster care comes in. Foster care is a system where a family unrelated to the child takes in the child to live with them and care for him.
Depending on the country, foster families may receive money to cover costs involved, or even a salary, or no financial support whatsoever. Foster care may be for a short time, to keep the child safe or to give the family a break, while social workers work with the child’s parents to find ways to make it possible for the child to go home again. Or it could be a long-term arrangement, which may even span the child’s entire childhood and youth.
Some countries also have specialised foster families. In these families at least one of the foster parents has received training to deal with things like challenging behaviour, mental health issues, developmental delay, disabilities or complex medical care. In these cases, one or both parents are usually paid a salary, to allow them to dedicate themselves to the handling the special needs of the child in their care.
Particularly in places where children move out of institutions and into foster care, it is very important that all foster families get some training. They need to understand that they can expect the children to show some developmental delays and challenging behaviour as a result of having lived in an institution, so that they will not be shocked or surprised. The foster parents should also receive advice and training on how to handle the challenging behaviour in a way that will help the child, rather than risk making things worse.
Foster families also need to be monitored regularly and provided with guidance. To make sure that the child is in a situation that is safe for and beneficial to him.
If foster families are selected carefully, trained properly and supported well, they can provide a great setting for a child to grow up in. And where possible contact with the child’s family should be allowed to continue.
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