For a number of reasons, today many children are left without parental care and love. The staff of the shelters does everything so that the kids feel safe. But no one can replace mom and dad. Adopting children is a great alternative. Young members of the community receive care, and adults can feel the joy of parenthood.
What is a foster family?
One of the most common forms of raising orphans is a foster family. This is an opportunity for children to feel like full-fledged people and grow in care and affection. Parents formalize only custody of the children. Adopting orphans is not necessary. Depending on the size of housing and living conditions, it is possible to accept from 1 to 4 children into a family. The pupil lives with foster parents under 18 years of age.
Family homes are also common today. This is a slightly different form of custody. Parents receive appropriate payments for the upbringing and maintenance of orphans. In this case, you can take more than 10 children of any age. Kids know that they live in a foster home. Despite this, they receive the same care as other children from their parents.
The foster family is constantly monitored by social services. Parents act according to the plan. Orphans most often fall into families with certain psychological problems. Foster parents, together with psychologists and social workers, do everything so that the child adapts to new conditions.
Features of the foster family
First of all, it is worth remembering that the adopted child in the family has the status of an orphan (as opposed to the adoption procedure). This means that all state benefits and payments remain. Social services can regularly offer trips to sanatoriums and recreation centers. In addition, a monthly pension is paid to orphans. Children can stay in the family until adulthood or until graduation. Then they are provided with a workplace and a hostel. Children in a foster family come only for a certain period of life. Despite this, foster parents often have warm relations with their wards. Many orphans remain in the family and at an older age.
He has many responsibilities to the state foster family. Parents receive payments for decent maintenance and parenting. Adults who decide to take care of orphans should receive appropriate training. In the future, every 2 years will have to take retraining courses.
Is orphan status maintained?
A foster family is an opportunity to raise children in a narrower circle. The teachers are adults (man and woman), who decided to take the kids under guardianship. But we are not talking about adoption. Children always have the opportunity to communicate with their biological parents if desired. Very often, babies become orphans with living relatives. Adults who lead the wrong lifestyle, do not properly care for the child, are deprived of parental rights. The kid goes to the shelter. Communication with relatives can stop only if the child is adopted.
Despite the fact that the foster family cannot prohibit communication with blood relatives, meetings with biological parents can be strictly supervised. If possible, such meetings are still best avoided. Communication with family can be a real trauma for the child. And the psychological health of adopted children should come first.
Is adoption possible?
A foster family is a temporary form of placement of children. The child knows that the parents are not relatives. The most difficult thing is that the baby can be adopted by another family without the consent of the temporary guardian. As soon as people appear who are going to adopt a baby, he can be removed from the register of the foster family.
Children quickly become attached to their
adoptive parents. Adoption by other people can be a serious psychological trauma for the child. Fortunately, toddlers are rarely chosen for adoption. Most often these are babies up to a year who are still little attached to their guardians and quickly adapt to new conditions.
Who can become foster parents?
Education in a foster family can be carried out by adults, the total income per family member of which exceeds the subsistence minimum established by law. A man and a woman who are not married cannot be the guardians of the same child. The health of people who want to create a foster family is of great importance. Before paperwork, you must undergo a full medical examination. People who are registered in a drug addiction or tuberculosis dispensary cannot accept children.
People who have previously been convicted or deprived of parental rights also cannot create a foster family. The same rule applies to former adoptive parents if the child was returned to the shelter through their fault. If adults are suitable for all indicators, they should receive appropriate training. The foster family should become a real rear for a child deprived of parental attention.
Education at a foster parents school
The school of foster parents is a preparatory stage, which enables people to understand whether they will be able to properly raise a non-native child. The program for all such schools is the same. It is approved by the Ministry of Health. During the training, future parents will be informed about the features of raising children from orphanages, to learn their needs. During training, 20% of adults abandon the idea of creating a foster seven. And there is nothing to worry about. Only a self-confident person can educate a worthy citizen. If there is no such confidence, you should not start.
Psychologists work with future parents during training. Adults have many fears associated with future guardianship. Many fear that the adopted child in the family will inherit the negative traits of the blood relatives. Such a probability, of course, is. But proper education is very important. If you direct the energy of the baby in the right direction, he will grow into a full member of society. In addition, everyone knows that children copy adult behavior. It is worth setting a positive example for a small person. And then all the negative character traits will come to naught.
How to create a foster family?
A foster family is a very serious step. Those who decided on it, initially need to come to the city center of social services and write a statement. Next, you will have to collect a package of documents, which will include parents' passports, identification numbers, marriage certificate, health certificates of family members, a certificate of family composition. Copies of all these documents will also have to be provided.
Education at the school of foster parents is a prerequisite. Appropriate training can also be taken at the regional center of social services. After training, parents have the opportunity to go through a guardianship council. It is here that the decision is made whether the spouses are suitable for creating a foster family. If all is well, foster parents can choose their children to raise (from 1 to 4, depending on the decision of the Board of Trustees). Within a few days, the final legal stage of paperwork is carried out.
Social support
The state is obliged to constantly provide social support to foster families. Each family is assigned a corresponding employee who regularly visits the family, communicates with children. This makes it possible to understand whether the adopted child feels well in the family, whether she receives the necessary care and attention from adults. Parents and children receive psychological support. There is always the opportunity to seek qualified help.
Once every two years, foster parents and families with adopted children take courses to increase the educational potential of adults. Specialists in psychology, pedagogy, and medicine are involved in the training. Parents should not only surround the kids with love and affection, but also know how to behave properly in a particular situation, how to provide first aid.
Special attention deserves the parents who took on the education of an HIV-infected baby. Such children can enter the foster family only with the consent of adults. At least once a year, you will have to take care of sick babies. For raising HIV-infected children, additional benefits are provided to foster families.
Responsibilities of foster parents
Foster parents act as legal representatives of children in organizations and enterprises. Adults are responsible for the life and health of adopted children. The mental and physical development of children in foster care also falls on the shoulders of adults. The man and woman who decided to create a foster family must do everything so that the child becomes a full member of society. The kid goes to study at a secondary school. Parents ensure that there are all conditions for normal mental development.
Foster parents have the right to apply pedagogical methods of education, to punish the child for disobedience, to encourage him. Education methods are necessarily discussed with social workers. What absolutely can not be done is to raise a hand for adopted children, even for educational purposes.
Rights and obligations of children in foster care
For children deprived of parental care, when getting into a foster family, all state guarantees and benefits are fully preserved. They have the opportunity to receive alimony and pensions that were previously assigned. Foster parents can receive financial assistance for children. Social services make sure that this money goes to meet the needs of children. For the normal development of orphans, a foster family has just been created. Payments may be transferred to the account opened by the guardians at the bank.
Children from foster families have the right to meet blood relatives, unless prohibited by court. But this is rarely practiced. Most often, babies fall into the shelters, whose mother and father died or were deprived of parental rights.
Adaptation of a child in a foster family
Most parents take care of small children who easily adapt to new conditions. With an adult child, the situation may be somewhat different. In the early days, a new family member can behave quietly and obey in everything. No more than a week passes and the child ceases to listen to his new parents. It is important to immediately show who is the boss in the house. No need to be afraid to comment on a new member of the family.
Adaptation of babies in foster care usually takes several months. If the child has reached school age, it is better to take him to the family at the beginning of the summer vacation. At this time, adults will be able to spend more time with a new family member, will be able to make it clear to him that they will not offend anyone here.
Payments and benefits
Foster family (2014) is fully provided financially by the state. Parents receive a benefit of three minimum wages per child. The stay of the baby in the family is included in the total length of service. This means that foster parents can also count on a decent retirement.
Children in the family have orphan status. They are also paid appropriate benefits. Adopt parents can manage money in the interests of the child.
The host family has many benefits. Payments in 2014 provide an opportunity to fully provide the child with clothing and food. Additionally, children can be offered trips to health resorts and holiday homes.
To summarize
A foster family can be a great alternative to adoption. Children with orphan status will always be dressed and shod, parents will be able to surround them with attention and care. But before creating a foster family, you should think several times. The goal should not be income from the state, but the desire to educate full-fledged members of society who, for a number of reasons, were deprived of the love of their parents.