The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population has introduced a number of changes to the relevant procedures to further improve and simplify the implementation of the foster family model and the process of reintegrating children deprived of parental care into a family environment.

The new changes increase accessibility in this area and enable services to be organised more efficiently, allowing citizens applying to become foster families to start serving as foster parents within a shorter period of time.

Currently, after individuals wishing to become foster parents are registered, an interview is conducted with them within 10 working days, and their material and living conditions are assessed for compliance with the best interests of the child. Foster parent candidates who successfully complete this stage are then enrolled by the Ministry in training courses lasting at least 3 days.

In order to ensure citizen satisfaction, it will henceforth also be possible to organise training for foster parent candidates in an online format.

At the end of the training, following the assessment, the period for selecting a suitable child for foster parent candidates who achieve positive results has also been shortened, taking into account their preferences, from 7 working days to 5 working days.

The timeframe for making prompt and optimal decisions at each stage of the foster family process — including conducting interviews, assessing material and living conditions, evaluating training results, selecting a foster parent suitable for the child or a child suitable for the foster parent candidate, organising meetings between candidates and children, and concluding the foster family agreement — has also been specified and set at 3 working days.

These latest changes make it possible to complete the process of placing a child with a foster family within a shorter period, reducing the minimum timeframe for the process to 2 weeks.

It should be noted that the foster family institution plays an important role in ensuring family-based care for children deprived of parental care for various reasons and in supporting their reintegration from residential institutions into a family environment. To date, 87 children have been placed with foster families by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population.