FOSTER CARE FOR CHILDREN IN CROATIA

1
FOSTER CARE FOR CHILDREN IN CROATIA

• Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatia

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FOSTER CARE LEGISLATION

• Social Welfare legislation (published in
  Narodne novine" No. 73/97, 27/01, 59/01, 82/01
  and 103/03),
• Regulation on criteria for practicing foster
  care and on procedures for issuing, renewing and
  cancelling foster parents lincence ("Narodne
  novine", No. 95/04 i 179/04).

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FOSTER CARE UPGRADING THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF LEGISLATION

• Regulating issuance of foster care licences
  have to be revised and reissued every two years,
• Obligatory training of foster parents before
  placing beneficiaries,
• Reducing the number of children which can be
  placed in one foster family, especially children
  with physical or intellectual disabilities
• Families who foster HIV positive children have
  the option to perform foster care as a profession
• establishing family-type homes

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WHO CAN BE PLACED IN A FOSTER FAMILY?

• Children without appropriate parental care
  (parentless children, neglected children or
  children whose parents misuse their parental
  duties),
• Pregnant woman or a parent with a child up to 6
  months of age. Exceptionally, if in the best
  interest of a child, a parent with a child up to
  12 months of age,
• Children and adolescents with behavioural
  disorders,
• Children and adults victims of family violence,
• Persons with physical or intellectual
  disabilities,
• Adults with psychical illnesses,
• Persons with alcohol, drugs or other substances
  addiction,
• Elderly and incapable people,
• HIV positive children

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FOSTER CARE DEFINITION

• Foster care has been defined as a form of care
  out of ones own family, which provides housing,
  nutrition, care, upbringing, health, education
  and care of other needs of a beneficiary (a child
  or an adult).

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ROLE OF A SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRE

• Expert-team assessment of a foster family
  conditions prior to issuing a licence
• Issuing a licence
• Conducting training
• Preparing a foster family for the placement
• Preparing a beneficiary for the placement (foster
  care plan)
• Preparing a biological family
• Support to a foster family
• Supervision of a foster familys work
• Visiting beneficiaries in foster families
• Working with biological family

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FOSTER CARE ALLOWANCE
It is determined in accordance to age and to
specific needs of a beneficiary (a base-line
amount for social welfare allowances is 400,00
HRK)

• Preschool child - 360 of the base-line
  amount (1.440,00 HRK)
• School-age child - 400 of the base-line
  amount (1.600,00 HRK)
• Preschool disabled child - 400 of the
  base-line amount (1.600,00 HRK)
• School-age disabled child - 440 of the base-line
  amount (1.760,00 HRK)
• HIV positive child - 1250 of the
  base-line amount (5.000,00 HRK)

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NUMERIC INDICATORS

• Children without appropriate parental care
  1.684
• Disabled children 378
• Children with behavioural disorders 120
• Children victims of family violence 10
• HIV positive children 3
• TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN 2.195
• FOSTER FAMILIES 1.337

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DIFFICULTIES IN THE AREA OF FOSTER CARE

• Lack of specialised professionals in the area of
  foster care,
• General over-load of professionals in social
  welfare centres
• Insufficient cooperation between social welfare
  centres in the area of foster care
• Absence of data base on foster families and their
  capacities for placements
• Consequences of these difficulties
• Foster families do not get sufficient and
  appropriate expert support,
• Foster parents are often left by them selves to
  face numerous problems, including ever more
  complex issues of the fostered children.

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ACTIVITIES OF THE MINISTRY ON THE UPGRADING OF
FOSTER CARE

• Cooperation with UNICEF Office for Croatia and
  the Centre for Social Policy Initiatives in
  projects focused on the upgrading of foster care
• Drafting the new foster care legislation

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Upgrading the foster care for children in Croatia

• UNICEF - PROJECT
• EVERY CHILD NEEDS A FAMILY

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PROJECT ACTIVITIES

• Establishing county foster care support centres
• Creating data base on foster families and
  fostered children
• Promotion of foster care at the local level
• Providing appropriate material conditions,
  education, monitoring and support to foster
  families fostering the youngest children (0-3)

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PROJECT OBJECTIVESUpgrading the quality of
foster care for children in Croatia, by
establishing county foster care support centres

• Education / training of professionals in foster
  care support centres
• Supervision in psycho-social work ( professionals
  in foster care support centres,
• Creating data base on foster families and
  fostered children in each county,
• Promotion of foster care at the local level
• Providing appropriate material conditions,
  education, monitoring and support to foster
  families fostering the youngest children (0-3)

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PROJECT IMPLEMENTORS

• Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
• Centre for Social Policy Initiatives (CSPI)
• UNICEF

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County foster care support centres

• Professionals dealing with foster care from each
  social welfare centre in each selected county,
• Representatives of residential institutions for
  children without parental care in each county

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The role of county foster care support centres

• Provide support to foster parents for children
  through
• Organizing and conducting initial training of
  foster parents prior to the first placement of
  children,
• Organizing and conducting continuous further
  education, as well as support groups for foster
  parents and fostered children,
• All-day phone counselling available to foster
  families
• Creating data base on foster families and
  fostered children in each county, available to
  all social welfare centres in particular county,
  and to other counties if needed
• Conducting coordinated and focused local
  campaigns for foster care promotion
• Providing basic baby equipment and support to
  families which would decide to foster small
  babies.

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County foster care support centres get

• Education (CSPI)
• Supervision
• Support and monitoring (Ministry of Health and
  Social Welfare (MHSW).

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PROJECT RESULTS

• 57 professionals engaged in 7 county foster care
  support centres
• All members of the county foster care support
  centres were given education and supervision
• Several local campaigns for promotion of foster
  care have been launched
• Data bases of foster families and fostered
  children have been created in all counties
• 35 support groups for foster parents have been
  organised and guided
• 14 support groups for fostered children have been
  organised and guided
• 597 new licences issued
• 294 children put into foster parents homes

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QUALITY ADVANCES THROUGH THE PROJECT

• Professionals emphasize developping of a new kind
  of relation with foster parents, with more
  reciprocal respect and consideration
• Foster parents stress the importance of support
  groups, where they can get expert support and,
  furthermore, are given the possibility of
  exchanging experience and support with other
  foster parents

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Upgrading the quality of foster care for children
in Croatia

• CSPI - PROJECT
• Training of experts, professionals and foster
  parents in the area of foster care in Croatia

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Following organisations participated in
implementation of the CSPI project

• University, social welfare service and foster
  care agency from Goteborg, Sweden
• SIDA ,
• University in Zagreb, Croatia
• Croatian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
  and social welfare services.

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PROJECT RESULTS

• 15 social welfare professionals were educated and
  subsequently conducted regional trainings for
  next 129 social welfare professionals working in
  the area of foster care,
• Handbook for training of professionals created,
• Guidebook for education of foster parents
  created,
• Swedish questionnaire for foster family
  assessment translated and modified.

23
Upgrading the quality of foster care for children
in Croatia

• CSPI - PROJECT
• Supervision of foster parents

24
Following organisations participated in
implementation of the CSPI project

• University in Goteborg, Sweden,
• SIDA,
• University in Zagreb,
• Croatian MHSW and social welfare services.

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PROJECT RESULTS

• 35 social welfare professionals participate in
  the ongoing training to become supervisors for
  foster parents,
• Around 200 foster parents are supported through
  supervision,
• Professionals in training are also provided by
  regular supervision.

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NEW FOSTER CARE LEGISLATION

• At most 3 children can be placed in one foster
  family
• Establishing specialised foster care teams in
  social welfare centres
• Systematic education of professionals
• Structured foster care allowances
• Foster families register and data base

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DUTIES OF THE SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRE

• Establish a foster care team
• Inform a foster family on characteristics of the
  person to be placed in a family
• Act in the manner to fulfil the purpose of
  fostering in all situations and in the best
  possible way.

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• Promote development of foster care in its field
  in accordance to assessed needs
• Explain the purpose of fostering, criteria,
  conditions and the way of practicing foster care,
  to all interested people.

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Specialised foster care teams

• Developing foster care in the area of local
  authority of a particular social welfare centre
• Determine the fulfilment of defined criteria and
  conditions, estimating qualifications and
  suitability of a family, issuing a licence
• Organising and conducting education of foster
  parents

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• Continuous professional support to foster
  families
• Continuous monitoring of foster parents work
• Conducting supervision of foster families etc.

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FOSTER CARE ALOWWANCES

• CHILDS ALLOWANCE
• FOSTER PARENTS REWARD-FEE

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REGISTER AND DATA BASE

• The Ministry responsible for social welfare will
  constitute data base of foster families
• Each social welfare centre is obligated to keep
  register on foster families and register on
  placed beneficiaries (for all categories of
  beneficiaries in the area of its local
  authority).