Alternative Care

Fostering aims to take holistic care of minors until their biological families are in a better position to bring them back in their care.

Any adult who fit the eligibility criteria and has the necessary abilities to take care of minors can be a foster career.

There is a process to become a foster carer. After an initial visit done by a social worker, the applicant has to attend to the Pre-Service Training for prospective foster carers and undergo an intensive assessment. Finally, the report compiled by the social worker, based on the evaluation, is examined by the Fostering Board. This board will decide whether the applicants are fit to become foster carers or not.

Children in need of foster care are of all ages, ranging from newborns to youths under the age of 18, whose biological families are passing through a rough time and cannot take care of their children properly.

There are two types of training that the Fostering services offer: 
1. Training for Next-of-Kin Foster Carers – This training consists of two-hour sessions, which are usually held in the morning. 
2. Training for Non-Related Foster Carers – This training consists of 8 sessions, and it provides detailed information on the fostering process. It also gives the opportunity to ask questions before the fostering experience starts. 

The fostering social workers carry out several home visits with the prospective foster carers. The social worker carries out this assessment to get to know the potential foster carers and their families. The prospective foster carers and the social workers can discuss in-depth the skills and strengths one must have and also some difficulties that could develop during the fostering journey. 

Long-term placement – When a placement lasts for more than 6 months
Short-term placement – When a placement lasts less than 6 months
Respite placement – When a placement lasts for a few days
Emergency placement – When children need urgent placements

Yes. If it is in the best interest of the child, the child can have contact with the natural parents. This contact may be held at APPOĠĠ or outside APPOĠĠ and may also be under supervision.

Foster careers have regular contact with the social worker who aims to work hand in hand with them towards the best interest of the fostered child. Regular contact consists of phone calls, e-mails, and home visits that take place approximately every four weeks.

Other than having a social worker assigned to the foster family, the foster careers are provided with additional sources of support, such as ongoing training, the opportunity to work with a counsellor within the Fostering team and benefits from other services that stem from the Agency, like family therapy.

There is a high need for foster carers since a number of children are continuously referred to the Fostering Service so that they can benefit from the security which is provided by the ambience of a family until their biological family members have the time to reform themselves. Unfortunately, we are faced with the reality that not all referred children have the opportunity to live with a foster family. 

Fostering offers new opportunities to children who used to live in situations considered as precarious and have undergone emotional traumas. Fostering provides children with the chance of living in a safe and secure environment whereby they can gain skills that help in their future and strengthen their relationship with their natural families.

A social worker practising within the Looked After Children Service mainly serves the role of the main ‘Key Worker’ within each child’s case. Each child followed by the service has the opportunity to build a one-to-one relationship with his/her social worker, whose ultimate aim is to ensure the minor’s well-being. The key social worker’s role is to monitor each child within his/her specific out-of-home placement and formulate a care plan to cater to his/her particular needs and situation.

 The Looked After Children Team follows and works with all children who live within the various out-of-home care placements, i.e. mainly in residential facilities, fostering placements, independent-living facilities, and within next-of-kin foster families. Each minor followed by the team is either protected by a care order, a court order or is living within his/her current placement through a voluntary agreement with his legal custodians. The minors’ ages usually range from newborns to service users who have reached adulthood and progressed to independent living. The service envisages offering service users who are no longer considered as minors with aftercare follow-ups to support them and try to ensure a smooth transition into adulthood.

Although the Looked After Children Team is made up of a large number of professionals, it aims to provide a service which is mostly client-centred and based on the individual needs of each minor. Each key social worker strives to treat each child as an individual with his/her own different needs and likes and bases an appropriate care plan upon such assessment. Each child is helped to voice out his/her opinions regarding their situation and encouraged to be an active participant in one’s care plan. The concept of ‘The Voice of the Child’ is a fundamental pillar upon which the service is based.

Although minors followed by the Looked After Children Service are mostly living within out-of-home care arrangements, the service recognises the value and importance which most children give to their families of origin and the various roles that these still play within their lives. The key social worker of each minor tries to involve the child’s parents or any other significant relative, in particular, the siblings, within the agreed-upon care plan. Relatives, whom the child deems to be significant, are encouraged and supported to maintain regular contact with both the child and his/her primary carers unless it would be detrimental to the child’s overall well-being, the care plan, or if otherwise voiced out by the child. Such relatives are also active participants and key stakeholders in the child’s review of her care plan.

Social contacts are persons who are willing to consistently allocate their time and resources to a minor/s. Social contacts may allocate a few hours or several days during the week to spend time with a minor/s who are in out-of-home care. The particular minors are matched to their respective social contacts according to their needs and the social contacts’ requests. 

Prospective social contacts need to be over the age of 18 years. They also need to be holders of a clean Police Conduct. Most importantly, they need to pledge an amount of commitment to maintain ongoing contact with the minors. The persons applying to become social contacts have to be able to demonstrate skills in organising constructive communication with the minor/s. Furthermore, prospective social contacts need to be willing to abide by any recommendations given to them by the Social Worker conducting the assessment when it comes to the care of the minor/s. 

Once a person/s shows interest in becoming a social contact, they have to approach a professional who works within the Foundation of Social Welfare Services and fill in a Social Contact Referral Form. The professional would then send the completed Social Contact Referral Form to the social worker/s within the Social Contacts’ Service. 
Once the referral is completed, and the case is allocated, the Social Worker would introduce himself/herself to the prospective social contact/s and explain his/her role within the Children’s Directorate. The Social Worker will then agree on a date on which the potential social contact/s can meet for an office visit to discuss further what is expected from them and the requirements. 
During the initial meeting, the Social Worker discusses the following:
the reason for applying to become a Social Contact;
the type of contact and commitment that the Social Contact is willing to offer;
any particular preferences of minors in terms of age and gender;
the long-term plans of the Social Contacts concerning the prospective child;
the involvement of any other family members; 
any difficulties that may arise during the contact;
strengths of the Social Contacts; and 
how to deal with tantrums or misbehaviour.

Following the initial meeting, the Social Worker then holds a Home Visit with the prospective Social Contacts, and any other family members, if applicable. The Social Worker assesses the house and takes a look at all the necessary rooms of the house. Following this, the Social Worker goes over the training pack, which includes information about child development, trauma, positive parenting, transference, and attachment.

The Social Worker then discusses any remaining queries and finalises the assessment to be able to complete the final report. Once the report is finalised, it is presented to the Social Contacts’ Board, which is responsible for determining the Social Contacts’ approvals.

Anyone can adopt, whether single, married, or cohabiting. One has to be 28 years of age or older (at least of one the applicants, in case of a couple), and between the child and any one of the adoptive parents, there must be a maximum discrepancy of 48 years.  

One can easily make contact with Aġenzija Tfal (Kura Alternattiva) and ask for the Adoption Service. Contact may be made through phone, the website, and the Facebook page. One could also visit the Aġenzija Appoġġ premises in Gwardamangia. A social worker meets the prospective adoptive parent/s to explain the adoption process and answer any pertaining questions.

During the intake session, the prospective adoptive parents are provided with the necessary forms to fill in and submit. The potential adoptive parents are then required to attend a 7-week preparation course, after which social workers carry out home visits and organise meetings with them to prepare a Home Study Report. The latter includes a thorough assessment of the prospective adoptive parents and is then presented to the Adoption Board, which after evaluating the contents of the report decides on the approval of the adoption by the prospective adoptive parents. Once approved, the prospective adoptive parents can apply for the country of their choice where they would need to follow the established procedure by the respective country and submit the required documentation. The application is filed in the country’s waiting list until a child is matched for adoption. Once this happens, an Adoption Medical Report, containing the child’s medical history, is screened by the Head Paediatrician at Mater Dei Hospital. This is done to attain approval for the child to be adopted in Malta. Judicial proceedings in both foreign and Maltese Courts are required for the adoption to be legally valid.

The countries which are currently open for adoption include Albania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Chile, and India. One can also adopt from Malta. The Adoption Service continuously works towards opening adoptions from other countries for applicants to have more options.

In both foreign and local adoptions, adopted children are monitored by the Adoption Service social workers who review their progress. In the case of foreign adopted children, this progress is reported to their country of origin. Every country specifies the duration and frequency of such reports. Apart from monitoring, the Adoption Services continue to provide the necessary support to the family and help them access services as required. 

Considering that the Adoption Service falls under the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, which is a government entity, services offered by this service are free of charge. Expenses are incurred by the applicants when they access external services as part of the adoption assessment, such as the general practitioner, the notary, and the psychologist, among others. The majority of the expenses come with the actual adoption when the applicants would need to travel to the respective country, which would include flights, accommodation, travel, translation of documents, and legal services. 

Parents adopting minors from foreign countries are partially reimbursed for expenses incurred during the adoption process not exceeding €10,000. This subsidy only applies to international adoptions which have been finalised from the 10th October 2017 onwards, even if the adoption process started before this date. Adoption is only considered completed once the legal process is concluded in the Maltese Courts, and a Court Decree is issued.

Home-Start offers support to parents who have children under five years of age and are passing through a difficult situation.
Several volunteers, who are parents themselves or who have firsthand parenting experience, home visit the families and offer them the necessary support. 
Apart from home visiting, some parents may attend group sessions meant for parents who would like to acquire better skills in coping with their children.

Every case is assessed so that the best service is provided. Every family has its own particular needs. Some parents may need a listening ear, someone to accompany them for an appointment, or someone to help them involve themselves better in their children’s lives during play or other activities. Home visits are conducted once a week by trained volunteers. The latter are provided with regular support from the professional responsible for the service so that they can support the families in the best possible way.

Yes, support is offered on a voluntary basis.

If you are a parent or have direct parenting experience and would like to join the team of Home-Start volunteers, you can phone 99018398 or send an email on [email protected] 

To apply for support from Home-Start, one can contact the person coordinating the service by phone or email on [email protected] for more information and to fix an appointment.

Office hours are from Monday to Friday between 7.30 am and 4 pm.

It is a service that provides alternative care accommodation for children and young adults, who cannot live with either their birth families and/or in foster care. It also aims to keep siblings together when this is in their best interest.

The service caters for all age groups, starting from newborns up to adults. The service aims to keep providing aftercare, for young adults who reach the age of 18, when possible.

Referrals are made by services operating within the structure of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services.

The service offers 24/7 care to children and young adults, who, at any given time, are living within its alternative care accommodation. Throughout their stay, children and young adults are provided with space to deal with their traumas and development through the provision of services offered by support workers, social workers, youth workers, and other professionals involved in the service users’ lives.

The need for this service is based on the demand for children and young adults to be placed in alternative care systems, which operates more on a family-like environment so that children and young adults can have a close to a family-like life experience throughout the journey within alternative care.

This service aims to support young people in bringing structure and stability in their lives, especially those who are at risk. The service develops and helps in maintaining healthy relationships with the young person’s support network. It also encourages youths to become independent in their everyday decisions. 

Young people between the ages of 15 and 25 can benefit from the service.

Embark for Life offers young people a variety of opportunities. Apart from supporting them in finding employment, we organise different types of workshops and outdoor activities.

Every young person can benefit from the service. One can either inform his/her assigned professional or else drop by our offices in Msida during office hours. The interested person can also contact us via telephone. 

The service is made up of Youth Workers and Social Welfare Professionals. Both strive to support young people. 

Yes, our service works jointly with other agencies/organisations in supporting youth. Further to this, we work closely with young people serving a sentence and help them in finding decent employment before they leave prison. 

As a service, we work closely with both CCF and CoRRs, where young people are held. Regular sessions are held with young inmates to support them in finding employment. As a service, we liaise with several companies who willingly employ these inmates. Apart from one-to-one sessions, a one-off workshop is also conducted to help them integrate well within society and prevent them from ending up in prison again.

ADP aims to bring structure in the lives of those who are at risk. The programme is affiliated with the Prince’s Trust International Achieve Programme. It provides them with a secure and stable lifestyle and helps them in building healthy and secure relationships.

Young people between the ages of 15 and 18 can benefit from the programme. Such a programme is aimed at young people with challenging behaviour, addictions, and also school dropouts.

The programme is three to four months long, whereby young people meet 4 times a week, and each session is 4 hours long.

The programme focuses mainly on skills. There are several topics that young people can choose from. Approximately, each young person conducts 7 portfolios with the help of the youth workers. These portfolios, if filled, are accredited to 1 O’level, which young people can make use of when applying to vocational schools, such as MCAST or ITS. 

No. Our focus is that young people benefit from non-formal education. We do not focus on writing but more on group activities both inside and outside the premises. Writing is included, but it is only for a short duration. 

No. The programme is free of charge even for outdoor activities. We try our best to provide the best unique experiences for young people. The only thing that we ask for is their commitment. 

As stated, this is non-formal education. No one is expected to come in uniform. 

The project is funded under EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services. 

The objective of this project is to improve the well-being of youths aged between 13 and 25, who are at risk of social exclusion and help them reintegrate in society. We have funds which are specifically allocated to allow youths to enroll in an educative training course which helps them realise their dreams with regard to employment. 

At the moment, we have a number of adolescents who are registered in different courses, such as hairdressing (both group and one-to-one), nails, barbering, security, and even driving lessons. Some youths are also opting for ECDL, make-up courses, and O’level tuition. In this regard, we have a team of professionals who work on an individual level with youths referred to the project to support them in finding the right training course or enter employment. 

Another team of professionals are working on a prevention campaign aimed at all youths in various settings. We also have professionals who can organise group informative sessions covering topics, like decision making, stress management, self-esteem, and other different subjects which are suitable for adolescents.

It depends on the eligibility criteria of the course, for most courses, the age eligibility criteria is 15 or 16, and 18 when it comes to a driving license. 

No, as this is not in compliance with the Maltese Law. 

Current opportunities include
O’ level tuition;
hairdressing course;
nail course;
driving lessons;
security course;
part-time MCAST courses; and
make-up course. 
This list changes accordingly since at OK project, we do not plan courses and ask youths to join; we seek feedback from youths and plan courses to fulfil the youths’ desires. 

Once the person becomes a beneficiary of the project, the youth would be assigned a worker who meets the youth to address the needs so that the needed support is provided. 

13 to 18 years of age

We follow youths through their difficulties, advocating for them, and empowering them in the process. 

Substance misuse, challenging behaviour, computer addiction, anger management, promiscuity, etc.

A team of social workers and youth workers; however, work is also performed with different professionals from different services for the best interests of our clients.

Yes, this service is provided on a voluntary basis; people who care and have the custody of a minor need to give consent to receive this service.

This all depends on the needs of the client. Workers are flexible in how to meet the clients; thus, meeting points vary from home visits, walks with clients, office visits, and anywhere which is deemed safe for such sessions to be held.