1. Klara Wigier Chief Specialist Department of Family Policy Ministry of Labour and Social Policy Tomasz Polkowski, Our Home Association Chairman Prague December 7, 2012

2. Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

3. 1. Support for families experiencing difficulties in the fulfillment of care roles is the set of planned activities aiming at the recovery of family’s abilities to fulfill such functions. 2. The system of substitute care is a set of persons, institutions and activities aiming at providing temporal care to children in case of parents’ inability to provide such care. What are the key words?

4. Family support and foster cares system Family support Work with a family Assistance in care and education of a child Foster care Family-based foster care Institutional/ residential foster care Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

5. Prevention Work with a family GMINA – Cz: Obec Foster families and foster homes Care and education centres Gaining independence POVIAT – Cz: Okres Adoption centres Regional care and therapy centres Pre-adoptive intervention centres SELF-GOVERNMENT OF THE VOIVODESHIP

6. A family assistant and other local institutions that act for a child and a family Day support centresSupporting families Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

7. Foster care Family- based Institutional Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

8. „normal”

9. Family-based forms of foster care – number of children Foster families Related (kinship) DEFINITION – only ascendants or siblings of a child Non-professional (up to 3 children) Professional (up to 3 children) Foster homes (up to 8children) Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

10. - Salary for the professional foster family or a person running a foster home - not less than PLN 2,000 (about 485€ per month ) - Emergency foster family not less than PLN 2,600 (ab. 630€) - If the children are not yet placed (i.e. emergency foster family the family receives 80% of the salary) - Rights for retirement, holidays leave (30 days per year)

11. Benefits for children in family-based foster care 1) Kinship family - not less than PLN 660 (about 160 €) a month 2) Professional and non-professional family - not less than PLN 1,000 (about 240 €) per month 3) Disabled children in foster care – additionally the sum not lower than PLN 200 (about 50 €) per month.

12. Examples: 1) co-financing holidays for children - once a year. 2) funds for the maintenance of foster family’s house or apartment. 3) a benefit to cover the costs related to the necessary repairs of the house or apartment. 4) funds to cover unpredicted costs connected with care and upbringing of a child in a foster home or with functioning of a foster home.

13.  Building local foster care teams to provide: - Employment of foster care coordinators - Recruitment of candidates for foster families - Qualification - Trainings for future foster families or family group homes - In service trainings - Organizing support and resources for foster families - Organizing voluntary supporters

14.  Elaboration of teamwork procedures with county administration, social support system, family courts, family assistants, specialists etc.  Providing advisory and therapeutic services  Legal advice  Periodical analyses of children placed in foster care  Providing psychological support  Cooperation with adoption centers  Providing relief support for foster families

15.  Should be the friend for the family rather then an auditor, evaluator or administration officer  Elaborates and helps to implement the individual plan of support to the child and its family  The plan should be coordinated with the family assistant  Provide all kinds of necessary support for the foster child and the family: organizational, legal support, specialists, re-education, self-support groups etc.

16.  To substitute parents?  To be a parent for somebody’s child?  To have a child?  To make the child happy?  To bring a child up?

17.  Who would I ask to care over my child if I were not able to do it?  What competencies should such a person have?  What needs of my child should she/he satisfy?

18. Examples of characteristics of a foster family:  Able to provide good conditions for development  Able to communicate, deal with emotions, loss  Able to cooperate with parents, social worker – aiming at reunification  Able to develop attachment with the child  Able to cooperate with other important persons in the implementation of the plan

21. Sad – because they experience loss of parents, relatives, place, environment Joyful – because they still are able to laugh and play Unable to express feelings – because they have not been loved and trusted Distrustful – because they may have been deceived so often Curious – though ofetn exploring the world independently, because adults did not accopmapny them in the past Having many health problems Often delayed in education Often do not know how to behave in many family or social situations Dreaming about going back home If we accept them as they are – may become loyal friends

22.  What should we learn?  What competencies would be needed?  Foster care requires adaptation of the family to the needs of the child

23. 1. Ability to satisfy care needs. 2. Ability to satisfy developmental needs. 3. Ability to strengthen child’s ties with members of its family. 4. Ability to strengthen positive, long-lasting relationships with adults and peers. 5. Ability to work in a team.

24.  Planned continuous support for professional foster families from Warsaw: Coordinators for each family, support groups, therapy, everyday support  Recruitment campaigns  Qualification procedures  Trainings  Adoption Centre

26.  New aim in life?  Joy  Making oneself „younger”  Many adventures  Personal fulfillment  Love, friendship  Warm, full house  Many troubles  Possibility to develop, learn

27.  The PRIDE program is designed to strengthen the quality of family foster care and adoption services by providing standardized, consistent, structured framework for the competency-based recruitment, preparation, and selection of foster and adoptive parents, and for foster parent in- service training and ongoing professional development.

28.  The competency is understood as the combination of practical abilities, knowledge and personality features  Throughout the whole PRIDE process the competencies of candidates are uncovered, analyzed and trained  The final decision is based on the mutual analysis of candidates’ competencies

29.  Basing on candidates’ experiences and emotions (reaching to childhood years and playing the roles of children, natural parents, etc.)  Interactive workshop exercises  Detailed analysis of competencies  Learning to look „through the eyes of the child” or its family

30.  Preparatory session or individual meeting  Ten group sessions: 1. Introduction to foster care 2. Team work in foster care 3 a/b Attachment 4. Loss 5. Self – esteem 6. Effective Communication 7. Positive Discipline 8. Permanency planning 9 a/b Children’s special needs 10. Preparation for change  Panel session with specialists and experienced foster carers  Decision meeting

31.  Insufficient number of foster care support centers and specialists  Foster care often treated as „paid” adoption  Foster families opposing reunification plans or even contacts with families  Many material demands of foster families  Many break-ups of foster families  Low quality of recruitment and training programs  Creating foster families for statistics rather then quality

32. CHILD’S FAMILY FAMILY ASSISTANT FOSTER CARE COORDINATOR FOSTER FAMILY * Starts cooperation with the assistant – accepts the assistant * Builds the „healthy” relationship with family * Learns the family system, family strengths, analyzes causes of crises * In cooperation with the foster care organizer has the database of foster families (with their strengths and needs) ready to receive children *Readiness to provide care to the child (participation in the training, competencies, conditions and resources, living close to child’s family) *The crises in the family persists or deepens * Provides adequate support to the family and evaluates results with the family * Cooperates with assistant and prepares for separation and fulfillment of reintegration conditions * Starts the cooperation with the family court, prepares the family for change Family court decision on the placement in substitute care

33. CHILD’S FAMILYts ASSISTANTCOORDINATOR FOSTER FAMILY * Analysis of possibilities of placement in kinship family, relatives * The foster care organizer appoints the coordinator to the particular child *meeting aiming at the proper selection of the foster family * Meeting preparing for change (separation) * Meeting preparing the potential foster family for placement. Ideally – first contacts with the child aiming at gaining the child’s minimal acceptance * Meeting when the family and the child meet the foster family and the coordinator. They agree on the day of child’s moving to the foster family, as well as discuss mutual expectations (division of roles), Aim: Getting trust *assures the family about further cooperation * the offer of support to the foster family – based on needs * Preparing the family for the acceptance of the child, place for the child * Mowing the child to the foster family, agreement on the date and place of the child’s meeting with parents

34. CHILD’S FAMILY ASSISTENTCOORDINATOR FOSTER FAMILY * Meeting parents shortly after the separation, how they deal with separation, what is the motivation for change, their expectations * Confirm emotions of the child, show respect to parents, allow contact * Meeting with the child – engagement in accordance to agreement *repares and updates the crisi analysis, genogram, analysis of strengths and needs – works with a team * Visit with the foster family, questions on the child * Spending time with the child, getting acquainted being together Meetings with the family to develop the tools of the Individual Planning Method * Elaborating strengths and needs analysis, genogram and ecomap of the child, elaborating the individual plan in cooperation with the foster family * Meeting discussing the situation of the child and the family, elaborating the long- term goal, realistic and concrte tasks for all, including outside specialists

35. CHILD’S FAMILY ASSISTANT COORDINATORFOSTER FAMILY *meeting aiming at the elaboration of the long-term aim, agreeing on tasks, time, forms of support (contract?) *meeting informing about the aims of work with the child and the family, agreeing on priorities and the involvement of the child’s family * Incuding other specialists to work with the family (physician, psychologist, social worker, others) – monitoring every meeting *inclusion of specialists into work with the child (psychologist, therapy, re-educator), self-support groups for fosyter carers etc. * Higher level of tasks concerning the child (longer stays of the child with the family) * Meetings discussing the progress of work, modifications of the plan, consultations *informing the child about the plan, listening, strengthening, elab. the Life Book *if the family does not cooperate: - Analysis of causes (what is the problem?) -Attempts of modification of tasks of the family, analysis of assistant’s plan -- giving time for experiencing loss -Inclusion of other relatives Coordinator or psychologist helps the foster family to talk to the child about the situation *analysis of the foster family’s strengths and needs * Foster family informs the child about facts. Being together in difficult moments with the child Relieving the child of the feeling of guilt *Strengthening the child in various fields

36. Thank you