The new bill on fostering, entitled "The Law on the Treatment of Children under the Parental Care or Custody or Care of the Director of Social Welfare Services Act 2023", will be submitted to the House of Representatives for adoption in the next few days, following its approval today by the Council of Ministers.
The Bill aims to regulate the care and protection of children placed under the parental care/custody/care of the Director of Social Welfare Services through the fostering process. The forms of fostering to date are kinship, traditional, two-parent, emergency and group fostering, while the new Bill adds professional fostering to these, which will be provided for children with disabilities and children with a serious physical or mental health or behavioural problem.
The Bill provides, inter alia, for the procedure for approving the suitability of foster parents and their obligations, the keeping of registers, the services provided to foster carers, the foster care supervision procedure, the criteria for the inclusion of a child in semi-independent living, and the smooth transition of the child to adulthood.
According to the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Ms. Anastasia Anthousis, "the most important and essential thing achieved by the new bill is the empowerment of the child's own voice throughout the fostering process. This ensures that children are placed in foster homes that are appropriate for their development and well-being, protecting their best interests and multiplying the psycho-social benefits for them." At the same time, through the legislative framework, supervision mechanisms are established by the competent State agencies, so that the protection of children is achieved to the maximum extent possible.
The purpose of foster care is to provide temporary alternative family care for children and adolescents who are removed from their biological family for protection reasons, giving the biological family the opportunity to take corrective action to restore the child to their proximity. The institution of fostering gives every child the opportunity to develop in a loving and accepting environment and, unlike adoption, which is a legal process and is irrevocable, fostering can take days, months or even years.
Currently, there are a total of 167 foster families in Cyprus. The number of children in the care of the Social Welfare Services is approximately 1500, of which 1200 are unaccompanied minor applicants for international protection. Of the remaining children in the care of the State, 29% are placed in child and adolescent protection institutions, 65% are accommodated in approved foster families and 6% are in a semi-independent living programme. It should be noted that these numbers are not constant, as needs are constantly diversifying.
(MCI)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
