Fostering ‘must not be seen’ as first step to adoption

Placing children in permanent fostering could be necessary in some cases but one had to be careful that foster care would not be perceived as a first step towards adoption, the Children’s Commissioner cautioned.

“Fostering is invaluable in our society and we must not lose sight of the main reason for it. The idea is to help families so that the children can eventually return to their natural parents,” Helen D’Amato said.

The National Foster Care Association last week recommended that fostering laws should allow children to live permanently with their foster carers if their parents remained absent from their life for a certain period of time. Association president Jason Zerafa said this would allow children to have stability in their lives as they would know where their home was even if they did keep some form of contact with their biological parents.

The recommendation was made as part of a survey carried out by the association to look into the perceptions and concerns of foster carers in Malta. There are almost 180 such carers.

Reacting to the proposal, Ms D’Amato said that, while it could make sense in some cases, the purpose of fostering should not be lost.

“This is a very sensitive subject and you cannot draw a clear line. Children need stability and, if necessary, yes, I agree with this (proposal)... We must be careful that fostering is not seen as a first step towards adoption,” she said.

She noted that the main aim of fostering was to give children a family environment where they could live until the situation at their home was sorted out. Fostering can be short or long term and includes: kinship fostering by relatives and emergency fostering when carers are needed.

Figures released last October show that 193 children were in foster care. Of these, 72 are being fostered by relatives.

Ms D’Amato said she believed there was a need for more funds to support foster carers, something the government was working on.

The association’s survey delved into the economic benefits and the feedback was that they needed to be improved in various ways. This did not mean foster carers wanted more cash in hand, Mr Zerafa said. Financial help could he given in the form of subsidies on utility bills or by helping with therapy costs.