Family instead of faceless childcare institution

Short-term fostering family substituted orphanages and childcare institutions. A child is in love and care in such family. At the same time social workers provide blamestorming with biological parents, providing them with “veritable way”. Or are in search of new parents for the child. To support reception families in their intentions there is a need of food, cloth, development games. Vitamins and sanitary.

There are 90000 children, deprived of family care in Ukraine. Their families are often lacking in the supports needed to help them through the crisis times that any of us can face. Because of alcoholism or drug abuse... Children face fear, abuse and neglect in childcare institutions and miss their parents. Short term fostering family is an ideal solution for a child, whose parents temporarily face crisis and are not able to care for him or her.

Short-term fostering family is a new project of Partnership for Every Child. Organisation staff believes that system of institutionalized child care should be changed, and there is a need for prevention programmes. Children already separated from their families for variety of reasons are placed into trained foster care family settings. Most children in care have a combination of circumstances in their backgrounds. For example, parental addiction problems often result in child neglect, or in physical or psychiatric illness.

While children benefit from safe and secure family environment, social workers and specialists work to rehabilitate the biological family, strengthen parenting capacities and strive to return children back to their native families.

From 2009 one of short term fostering families accepted 10 children, no child was sent to internat: 5 were returned to biological family, 3 – were taken into kinship care, 2 – were adopted. Short term fostering family can correct the majority of problems of biological family: provide self-esteem, show the way to overcome psychological problems.

“It’s hard to explain, but family environment changes children like in a miracle: their faces are enlightened with smiles, their behavior changes too – children become quieter, more self confident and joyful” – says Nataliya Dudko, foster mother.

Children live in short term fostering family for half a year, their parents have all parental rights, and children see them frequently. During this time psychologists, doctors and social workers clarify whether mother and father can continue to care for a child on their own. Parents are assisted to find job, pass rehabilitation or medical treatment, and help to improve living conditions.

To help short term fostering family to further assist vulnerable families with children there is a need in resources for food, clothes, developmental toys, vitamins, hygienic kits. Partnership for Every Child can’t afford help each child placed into foster care. One child needs 1,5 thousand of hryvnyas (UAH) per month. Partnership for Every Child asks for help. We can provide safe and secure family environment for four children, and do our best to return them to biological families.