Foster Care refers to the provision of planned temporary substitute parental care by a foster parent or foster family to a child whose biological parents are temporarily or permanently unable to care for him or her due to family dysfunction, or medical and economic reasons.
Foster Parent refers to a person, duly licensed by the
NACC to provide foster care, during which supervision is provided by a social
worker to facilitate the child's adjustment and assist in performing foster
parenting responsibilities.
TYPES OF FOSTER CARE CARE
- Regular Care/Placement - refers to the mode of foster care placement where a child shall only be placed with a licensed foster parent and only after the issuance of a Foster Placement Authority (FPA).
- Kinship or Relative Foster Care - refers to an out-of-home arrangement for full-time care by relatives of the child, when a child is an orphan or removed from home due to safety concern such as abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment. If eligible, child's identified relative is licensed by NACC as foster parent.
DURATION OF FOSTER CARE CARE
- Short-Term Foster Care Placement - refers to the duration of placement wherein a child is under the care of their foster parent for a period of one year and below.
- Long-Term Foster Placement - refers to the permanency plan where a foster child has been under the care of their foster parent for at least seven years.
WHO ARE CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR FOSTER CARE?
- Children from infancy to below 18 years of age who are under any of the following circumstances:
- Under the custody of DSWD or any child placement agency and are not yet legally free for adoption, but need individual attention in a family setting.
WHO ARE CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR FOSTER CARE?
- abandoned by parents in hospitals or other places or with relatives who are not qualified or incapable to care for them
- awaiting adoptive placement
- needs special care and protection due to sexual or physical abuse
- with developmental or physical disabilities
WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A FOSTER PARENT?
- Should not be over 60 years old but not under 25 years old (16 years older than the child unless a relative);
- Legally married, widowed, solo parent or single;
- Has good moral character, emotional security and financially able to provide the family’s needs;
- Have a genuine interest in parenting a non-related child and;
- Should be willing to help the child reunite with his/her birth family or move into an adoptive family when the time comes;
- Should be mentally and physically fit and free from contagious and infectious disease;
- Willing to be trained to further hone knowledge, attitudes and skills in caring for children with special needs.
