#fostercare – Page 3

To Know Your Life Story

Posted on October 14, 2019October 14, 2019 by Florence

Children who grow up in a family, from the time they were small babies, know the story about their life. They love asking their parents to tell them about the time that… they were born, their siblings arrived, they hit certain milestones, the family moved house or had big celebrations, and so on. By talking about these things, sharing memories and stories, by watching photos and videos these children build up their life story. And their life story includes a narrative from the time of which they have no memories.

Our life story is important for our sense of identity. It plays a role in our image of who we are. Unfortunately, for children in alternative care it is very rare to know about their entire life and to have a complete life story to hold on to.

Caseworkers’ Workloads

Posted on October 3, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

In the previous blog, I described some of the responsibilities of a caseworker. There are many. Caseworkers jobs are not easy. They bear an enormous responsibility and are generally very committed to making sure that the children who depend on them are looked after as well as possible.

The Need for Counselling

Posted on September 23, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

Too often children who are placed in alternative care, or children who have been moved from an institution to a family – whether it be their own or a new one – are not provided with any counselling. This is a big problem and can even cause a ‘placement break-down’. Meaning it turns out not to be possible any longer for a child to stay in the family she was placed in – even if it was her own – because of emotional and behavioural problems.

Supporting Young Adults After Foster Care

Posted on July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 by Florence

After looking at why it is important to continue to provide support of young adults who were in alternative care on their 18th birthday (HERE) two weeks ago. And looking at the kind of aftercare needed by young adults who grew up in institutions (HERE) last week. This week we are going to have a look at the options for young adults who grew up in foster care.

Supporting Young Adults After Institutionalisation

Posted on July 1, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

In last week’s blog, I described how the transition of being cared for as a child to living independently as an adult should happen gradually for young adults, in order to be successful. I also mentioned that unfortunately support for care leavers is often still lacking and young adults are left to fend for themselves once they reach the age of 18.

This week I want to talk about how to support young adults who have grown up in an institution, once they venture out into the world.

Support Can’t End at Age 18

Posted on June 24, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

When alternative care is discussed or arranged – no matter whether it is family-based or institutional – in many cases thoughts only reach as far as the child’s 18th birthday. At that point the child is no longer a child, she has become an adult. And so, the obligation to provide care, whether under the law or under Child Rights, disappears into a puff of smoke.

In far too many cases and countries care provisions and support end on that very day. The child is waved off at the door of the institution, or made to move out of her foster family, and is expected to take care of herself now.

Comparing Outcomes

Posted on May 2, 2019April 29, 2019 by Florence

When you propose a move from institutionalisation to family-based care, you usually get inundated with arguments against it. The belief that institutional care is cheaper is one of the arguments (one that was already refuted HERE), but not the only one. There is usually also a fear of trusting another family, strangers, to care for a child. The feeling is that the child will be alright in the institution, because that is all organised and more or less official, but it seems dangerous to just trust ‘random strangers’ with a child, anything could happen.

Foster Care: A Foreign Concept?

Posted on April 29, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

When you discuss family-based care and talk about the option of foster care in a country where formal foster care is not present, the reaction you often get is: ‘Oh, but foster care is a foreign idea, it is not part of our culture and it would never work here.’ Interestingly enough this argument is used as a reason to stick to institutionalisation of children.

This is pretty ironic, because institutionalisation of children is definitely a foreign idea that was brought over by colonialists and missionaries, while when you take a closer look, foster care does not turn out to be all that foreign at all.

Filling the Gap with Emergency Foster Care

Posted on April 25, 2019October 1, 2019 by Florence

More and more people agree that institutional care is not good for children. However, there is still a belief that in some situations putting children in institutions is inevitable. A belief that while it is not good, it is still better than the alternative. This belief exists, because there is a lack of awareness of alternative options. The thought is that the only options are leaving the child in a dangerous situation or putting her in an institution.

The good news is that this is not true. There is a family-based alternative, also in emergency situations. In this blog we will look at what that is.

India Trip

Posted on April 1, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

As I am about to get on an airplane again, to go home tomorrow, it seems like a good moment to look back on the weeks I have spent in India and the work I have done here.

As many of you know, before I founded Why Family-Based Solutions, I ran Orphanage Projects. This trip has been an interesting juxtaposition of the work of those two. Having spent half of it on strategising for deinstitutionalisation and the other half on still improving conditions in several institutions.