Foster care in Malta

It was a pleasure reading Dr Natasha Buontempo's article (The Sunday Times, July 29) and the structured, positive feedback that was put forward with regard to the Foster Care Bill. However, I feel I must clarify some misconceptions and give an update on the current situation regarding foster care.

Before rising for the summer recess, Parliament discussed in detail and approved the Foster Care Bill piloted by Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina. This means that the law on foster care, as amended following debate in Parliament and the feedback received from interested parties, has been enacted and thus foster care in Malta now has a legal status and backing for the first time ever.

Dr Buontempo's article kicks off by saying that we need a law that caters for cases "where children require the intervention of the government to safeguard their interests and their physical and emotional care". This law in fact already exists, and has been regularly used during the past years.

The Children and Young Persons (Care Orders) Act provides for particular cases where children need care which cannot be provided by their parents or guardians. In such cases, the minister responsible for social policy may issue a care order to take the said child under his/her wing and provide the care needed, according to the child's best interests.

While Dr Buontempo rightly refers to LN 13 of 1962 with regard to providing care for children who cannot remain with their families, it is perhaps pertinent to point out that this legal notice does not specifically cater for foster care placements. The lack of legislation to back foster care placements led the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity to start the process to enact the Foster Care Act. The ministry will now be looking at updating this particular legal notice to better regulate the voluntary placement of children.

In her article, Dr Buontempo explains the function of the entities and authorities established by the new law. Allow me to clarify that the main function of the Fostering Board is not "to monitor the particular case of children who need fostering". This responsibility falls within the remit of the accredited agencies, which will be responsible to monitor the placements and safeguard the best interests of the children in foster care. The functions of the Fostering Board are more related to issues concerning the foster carers, as Dr Buontempo correctly points out.

Another point that must be clarified is that the accredited agencies will not be regulating their own procedures. Any organisation, which would like to be recognised as an accredited agency has to be approved as such by the Central Authority. Should an accredited agency, cease to comply with the eligibility criteria set out by the Central Authority, its accreditation may be revoked. Thus, there is no case of self-regulation, since the accredited agency is answerable to the Central Authority in the performance of its tasks.

Dr Buontempo also makes reference to English law, and initially mentions the agencies' duties to secure the child's welfare and to make arrangements for their protection. In this regard, this new Maltese law particularly specifies that accredited agencies must monitor all placements carried out by them and ensure that they are in the best interest of the children concerned. Furthermore, based on the English example, our accredited agencies will have to have policies and procedures that must be approved by the Central Authority. Such policies and procedures include those relating to issues such as the abuse and/or death of children in foster care.

Dr Buontempo mentions some other issues in relation to English law. She mentions that the child is to be consulted. It is important to note that in Malta, no foster care agreement will take place without the consent of the child, due consideration being given to the child's age and understanding. She also mentions issues regarding the child's health. In this regard I'd like to point out that the new law is very innovative in that it will enable relevant medical information that will affect the child to be disclosed so as to ensure the best care and protection for the child.

Two other issues that were mentioned with regard to English law are the education and hobbies of the child, as well as the care of a child who reaches the age of 18. Allow me to explain. Matters of education of fostered children have to be specifically included in the Foster Care agreement. This is because all children are different and may require different plans to suit their needs.

With regard to hobbies, I would like to highlight Article 25 of the new Foster Care Act, which states that the fostered child "shall be cared for, maintained, instructed and educated according to the child's abilities, aspirations and natural inclinations..."

As to what happens once the child turns 18, Dr Buontempo correctly points out that English law deals with this issue in the Children Leaving Care Act 2000, a separate piece of legislation. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that in most countries foster care is terminated once the child turns 18. Thus, we should follow England's example and produce new legislation that will cater specifically for these cases. Such legislation would give legal backup to projects such as HeadStart, which is already being implemented and proving beneficial in the cases pointed out by Dr Buontempo.

One of the salient points of Dr Buontempo's article is that the law should have made more reference to the specific needs of fostered children. While I understand her concern in this regard, I must point out that each and every child who requires care outside his or her family is very special and has particular needs. Including a list of needs in legislative text will definitely not cater for all children in care, and will surely exclude some particular cases.

The new legislation tries to avoid this kind of scenario, and thus provides for an agreement for each and every foster care placement. Such an agreement will be tailor-made for each child and will take the specific needs of the child into consideration to ensure his or her well-being and best interests. In this way, both the fostered child and the foster carer will know exactly what rights and duties they have, as they will be listed in a specific agreement that has the backing of the law.

Finally, regarding Dr Buontempo's comment that the fostering agencies can contribute greatly to the formulation of this law, I would like to assure her that the entities currently providing this service, together with the Association of Foster Carers and the Commissioner for Children, were involved in the process leading to the enactment of this law, and have given invaluable contributions to make this law practical and one which secures the best interests of our children.