The necessity & suitability of the Foster care programme
As a nation, we are familiar with the informal form of alternative care known formally as Kinship care: which is the placement within a family or next of kin and usually an informal arrangement which often does not involve the government social workers.
Foster care is a court-ordered process based on a report submitted by the government social worker, to place a child within a government pre-approved family who are not biologically related to the child. The placement is done after an assessment of the level of suitability of the family to provide a loving and stable home to the child who has lost parental care.
Crucial elements of the Foster care programme are:
- Gate Keeping (identifying children in need of alternative care – care that can be provided outside of the immediate family environment and assessing the needs that must be fulfilled);
- Continuous Monitoring - once placement with a State Certified Caregiver or prospective foster parent is done, there will be monitoring of the adapting and bonding phases of the introduction).
- Continuous Review of the placement to address any growing pains of both child & fostering parent, and assess any need to find a new, better suited placement for the apparent needs of the child.
The processes above involve stakeholders such as Government, through the Department of Social Welfare, and the courts.