CHILD FOSTERING SCHEMES

CHILD FOSTERING SCHEMES

**

(Current capacity): **

17.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) what is the current capacity of the child fostering schemes administered by the Ministry, in terms of the numbers of children fostered per year and the numbers awaiting fostering, and the pool of foster parents known to the Ministry; and (b) whether the

Column: 2559

current steps taken to select foster parents and to monitor the progress of existing fostering arrangements are adequate to safeguard the welfare of the children.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Foster care is an alternative home-based care arrangement for children and infants who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. It is the preferred option to a children’s home as the child is able to receive individual care and attention in a family setting.

Each year, around 80 new children are placed in foster care. There are currently 198 foster parents under the scheme caring for 320 children. There are about 30 children on the waiting list. Most of them are older children above 10 years or with special needs, hence the greater difficulty in finding suitable foster families. These children are presently placed in residential care in the voluntary children homes. We will place these children in foster families only when suitable ones are found as we do not want to compromise the safety and welfare of these children.

As foster parents are entrusted with the care of children, the Ministry has in place a stringent selection process. Potential foster parents and their families are screened and interviewed by trained staff. This is a rigorous process where their motivation for fostering, past experience in caring for children, family background, parenting and disciplinary styles are assessed. Among other factors, it is important that potential foster parents understand the developmental needs of children, and the needs of those who could have a history of abuse, neglect and abandonment, and are willing to work in partnership with the Child Protection Service. In 2009, the Ministry received 287 enquiries regarding our fostering scheme. Out of this number, 59 were found to be eligible for further interview and assessment. After detailed assessment, 24 were selected to be foster parents.

Applicants with past criminal convictions involving sexual offences or violence will be rejected. However, those who had committed minor offences may be considered. These applicants would have to provide more information on their past records, and be assessed by an independent panel consisting of professionals outside of the Ministry.

When a child is matched with a foster parent, a fostering co-ordinator will oversee the placement and make regular visits to the foster home to assess the quality of care provided by the foster parents. Each home is visited once in two months. For certain cases requiring more support, weekly visits may be made. Unannounced home visits are also carried out to enforce the importance of providing a safe environment for the foster children. Throughout the period the child is with the foster family, there is regular contact with other professionals, such as social workers, teachers and psychologists, who are trained to detect any signs of abuse. Should there be any allegations of abuse, which is a rare occurrence, an investigation will be conducted and the foster parent can be suspended, pending the outcome.

An emergency after-office hours hotline is also available for foster parents to contact the fostering co-ordinator at any time. Finally, training is also provided on an on-going basis to foster parents, to help them understand and practise positive parenting skills. To ensure the children’s safety and welfare are being met, their progress is reviewed by the Committee on Fostering. Members of this Committee comprise professionals such as doctors, social workers, counsellors, and individuals from other fields.

Column: 2561

Our current safeguards are adequate. Since the fostering scheme was introduced in 1956, more than 5,000 children have benefited from the scheme. Many of these children have been reintegrated back to their natural families, a small number are adopted whilst others have moved on to live independently.

Foster care will continue to be an important part of child protection work and my Ministry hopes that more volunteers will come forward to serve in this area of need.

**

**

**

**