WITH children from all sorts of backgrounds in need of short-term and sometimes long-term care, the demand for more foster families is increasing.
There are currently 195 foster families registered with the Social Welfare Services island-wide, a slight increase (3.2 per cent) since 2005.
More foster families are needed, and the department is in the process of carrying out a survey, expected to be complete by the end of the year, which looks into ways of doing so.
“Among this survey’s aims is to examine ways of informing and familiarising the public with our fostering programme,” Nicosia Welfare Officer Maria Kyratzi told the Sunday Mail.
Foster parents take in children of all ages, ranging from infancy all the way up to the age of 18. The children are either Cypriot or foreign. According to Kyratzi, the services do their upmost to place a child in foster care rather than send them to an institution.
“The main factors that are taken into consideration before placing children are their age and their needs. For children of preschool age, we try our best to place them with foster families,” said Kyratzi.
The main reasons for removing a child from its biological family, she added, are social problems, such as abuse and neglect, seriously dysfunctional families or the imprisonment of a parent. Others are children of illegal immigrants under remand or unaccompanied foreign children.
“When it is spotted that a child’s care and protection isn’t secure, the Social Welfare Services, as the state authority in charge of child protection, has an obligation to ensure they’re cared for and sheltered. A child’s removal from a family will be sought in the event that all other options of supporting the family are exhausted,” she said.
Not just anyone can foster, she added. In order to register as a foster parent, one must fulfil a number of criteria.
For a start they need to be in good psychological, physical and emotional health. They need to be in a position to deal with a variety of situations, behaviours, needs and emotions from the children they are fostering.
“They must have reserves of love they are expected to share between their biological and foster children,” said Kyratzi. “They must be patient and capable of dealing with the children’s care and they must be flexible with their understanding and acceptance of the child’s natural family.”
Taking into consideration that there are various kinds of fostering – such as through relatives, short-term, long-term, extraordinary and one day’s fostering – someone’s application will be examined depending on their abilities at that given time.
Immediately after applying to be a foster parent, co-operation begins with a Welfare Officer from the relevant district office.
This procedure includes preparing and evaluating the candidates for fostering. A child is then placed in their care, after their compatibility with the family has been assessed.
All approved foster families have contact with a Welfare Officer, who provides them with the necessary support and supervision.
“Foster parents’ relations with the officer must be accompanied with honesty, mutual trust, understanding and care, with the first and foremost aim of protecting and promoting the children’s best interests,” said Kyratzi.
Foster families receive monthly funds from the state, which cover the child’s residence, clothing, shoes, food, care and other extra needs, such as personal expenses, transport fees, nappies, afternoon classes and others.
“Our Services’ constant aim is to financially cover the children’s needs, without making the funds high enough to constitute someone’s main motivation to become a foster parent,” said the Welfare Officer.
“Contributions through fostering ensure a child receives the prototypes of an organised and stable family life, security and unconditional love and care, of which the child is in desperate need for him or her to have smooth psychological development.”
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, you can contact the number 22-406609 or email: [email protected]
