More awareness needed of fostering role – Labour

Foster parents are clamouring additional legal rights that would facilitate simple things like taking the child on holiday without having to go through court proceedings, according to Labour Party spokesman for children Justyne Caruana.

Foster carers would also like to see more awareness about their role in society, which involves providing a child, often from a poor social background, with a loving home. She relayed a story told to her by a couple of foster parents who complained about this lack of awareness.

“They recounted that a particular teacher continued to refer to foster parents as adoptive parents. When they finally managed to explain, the word ‘fostered’ was added near the name of the child (on the teacher’s classroom list)... This is a major cause of stigma which may easily end up as bullying,” Dr Caruana said.

The issue had been flagged up by the National Foster Care Association, which carried out a survey among foster carers and identified this lack of understanding and awareness among teachers and school staff as a main concern.

Dr Caruana said that while it was positive that the government had raised the allowance for foster families, it should also invest more in such families and recognise the importance of their role.

Research showed that children were much better off living in a family environment rather than a residential home. Moreover, since these children came from troubled families, foster carers often paid for therapy sessions without being reimbursed, she said.