More support needed for foster carers

Nobody can deny that the Foster Care Bill is a step in the right direction, but I sadly note that Parliament, instead of adopting a holistic approach to regulating and encouraging foster care, has refrained from clearly committing itself, in the Act, to meeting important needs of foster carers.

Both sides of the House seem to agree on the importance of foster care in our society and acknowldge that foster carers have a tough mission and need more help.

MPs pointed, for example, to the loss of privacy that foster carers suffer due to the monitoring and checks, which are required to protect the children under care; the inadequate financial and medical support given to carers; and the increased risk that fostered children suffer from mental health problems due to the traumas they have faced in their life.

Foster carers who were trained and approved by Appogg cannot understand why in Clause 34 of the Act it is stated that they have to apply to be approved by the new Fostering Board. I ask: Is Appogg not going to be one of the accredited agencies and if it qualifies, why can't the present approved foster carers be automatically included in the new register? And how about the Act also providing foster carers with free, impartial legal aid especially in instances where they feel aggrieved by certain decisions? Is this not their right? Are they expected to pay for such a service?

There needs to be improvement and support for foster carers in the following areas:

Preferential rates or rebates in energy bills for each fostered child.

Free medicines and free medical/psychological/psychiatric services for any fostered child.

Preferential income tax rates coupled with an adequate improvement to the present foster care allowance.

Increased training and wider support for foster carers in various areas.

Impartial free legal aid and representation.

I do not think that the above requests are unachievable or unsustainable. Members of the House actually commented on these areas in the parliamentary debates. If the country is not producing social workers and psychologists fast enough, then one should consider the possibility of part-time or flexible hours for ex-social workers and other suitable persons together with the possible outsourcing of psychologists/therapists etc. from the private sector.

If everyone would like to see an increase in fostering, then every effort should be made to ensure that we will not have a situation where only people who are financially stable can take it up. Our mission should be to reduce the number of children who are in institutes and provide them with a secure family environment.

Naturally, everybody agrees that checks and monitoring should be carried out to protect fostered children against any possible abuse but it should also be ensured that the State fulfil its duty of provision of services and support in this area.

With the present benefits and support, expanding foster care is really a long and winding road. I do not see a problem in giving the foster carers and their fostered children their due.

Finally, I would like to thank the Fostering Team at Appogg for their hard work and support in spite of their limited resources and the National Foster Care Association of Malta for promoting the foster carers' rights and responsibilities.