Fostering
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If you are considering becoming a foster carer, begin by familiarising yourself with the national Fostering Service within the Children’s Directorate (Alternative Care). Get in touch with the Fostering Team by:
directly messaging the team on their Facebook Page;
ropping in at the office which can be found at ‘36, Triq San Luqa, Gwardamangia, Pieta PTA 1318’
Fostering E-Form - During the initial contact, a Registration of Interest form will be filled in together with the key social worker with whom first contact is established. Also, your key worker will be scheduling an appointment with you so that you can proceed to the next step, the initial home visit.
The aim of this visit is mainly to help the applicant become more familiar with the concept of fostering. It is also the first part of the assessment process which one has to undergo before becoming a foster carer.
An experienced social worker will answer all questions that you might have about the experience of a foster carer. Likewise, the social worker will start to get to know your family and will ask some questions like what interested you in becoming a foster carer.
Applicants together with all household members will be asked to present the Fedina Penali within one week after the initial visit and a copy of ID Card. The social workers will also be carrying out the necessary checks with the Protection of Minor (Sex Offenders) Register, through Court. Furthermore, during such visit the social worker shall go through the Eligibility Criteria checklist, which includes a set of question in order to get a better overview of the applicants.
Applicants will be asked to sign a consent which binds them to provide necessary documentation.
Once documentation is submitted they can proceed to the next step, which is the pre-service training.
When the initial home visit is done and documentation is provided, the prospective foster carers are invited to attend to the relevant training sessions:
Training for Prospective Next-of-Kin Foster Carers
OR
Training for Prospective Non-Related Foster Carers
It is essential to attend all the sessions if possible, since the training aims to give you an in-depth view of the whole fostering process.
Us as the social workers together with you as applicants shall sign a consent form which binds us with confidentiality.
We shall be sending a letter with questions to fill in to the following:
Employer of the applicants – regarding your commitment and conduct at work.
GP family doctor – Regarding any health conditions.
School of applicant’s biological children (if applicable) –regarding your commitment and participation.
Apart from the documents provided during our initial visits, we also kindly ask you to provide the following:
Birth certificate of the applicants
Marriage/Separation/Divorce
/Annulment certificate (if applicable)
2 Passport photos of each applicant
Passport number (if not expired)
National Insurance number of the applicants
FS3 form of the previous year of both applicants.
We also require you to choose 2 persons who know you well and who are not related to you, so that we can meet them up so they will let us know more about you. The referees chosen should not be relatives, and couples are considered as one.
Once a child is matched, a number of reports are sent to PAPs about the minor, including an Adoption Medical Report, containing the child's medical history. This is screened by the Head Pediatrician at Mater Dei Hospital for approval to be given for the child to be adopted in Malta. Once approval is issued, the prospective adoptive parents start the legal proceedings through a lawyer in the country of origin of the child.
The social workers will then gather all the information which was discussed during the assessment stage in the Home Study Report, which will then be sent along with the respective documents to the Fostering Board for a decision regarding approval.
Once the Fostering social worker sends the Home Study Report to the Fostering Board, the foster board will decide if you are suitable to foster. Usually, this decision will be taken under the recommendation of the fostering social worker that carried out the Home Study Report.
Within five working days, the fostering board shall inform you about their decision if you are approved or not. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal this decision taken by the Fostering Board by filing an application in front of the Board of Appeal by not later than eight working days from the date of service of the decision.
It is an exciting time when you have been approved to become a foster carer as you will be a step close to help a vulnerable child. In fact, once you have been approved as a foster carer, the matching proves can now start. The fostering service will now start to match an appropriate child with you. The fostering service should provide you with the necessary information about the child that could be placed with you and you could discuss any questions you have with the social worker.
This might be the final step to your fostering process, however social workers from the fostering team will remain to give you support as a foster carer. Social workers from the fostering team, as well as from other teams like child protection services, and other professionals that might be involved, will work hand in hand towards the best interest of the child that you are now the foster carer of.
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