Support for foster families
Foster families also look after children who are unable to adapt socially, cause educational problems, have serious backlogs at school or simply learn a little less. Such situations are a consequence of previous neglect in the biological family, but regardless of the scale of the problem, foster parents are not alone with it and can count on support.
Specialist support
The organizer of foster care is obliged to enable the foster family to obtain advice from a psychological and pedagogical counseling center or other specialist counseling center, as well as for therapy.
Help from a family coordinator
• providing assistance in the implementation of foster care tasks,
• preparation (in collaboration with the family assistant and foster families) of a support plan for a child staying in the family,
• helping foster families in establishing mutual contact,
• providing specialist psychological help for children,
re-education and rehabilitation
Volunteer support
Individuals who help children learn, sometimes organize their extracurricular activities and trips, teach children to play instruments, etc. Thanks to the help of volunteers, parents can have a moment of rest during the day.
In the case of professional and non-professional families, support is possible from a person hired to help. This may be the case when there are more than 3 children in the family and the foster family has applied for it.
Where can foster families look for additional support?
The foster care organizer offers families with the above-mentioned help, but it is not the only solution. It is worth looking for additional options, examples of which can be found below
Associations and foundations
It is worth checking whether he is in the immediate vicinity on behalf of foster families. Time spent together, volunteers, sharing experiences, but most of all the support of people who also understand the bright and dark sides of foster parenting.
Help from the school
You can use the help of school staff - educators, psychologist or tutor of the class attended by the child. They observe the child's behavior from peers and have pedagogical experience that may be helpful.
Other foster families
It is good to have contact with families with similar experiences. You can find them in various foundations, associations, and also through social media. It is worth supporting each other.
Taking the advice of specialists - support groups and psychologists is not an insult or a sign of failure to cope. Taking care of a good mental condition (of the child and one's own) is one of the obligations of each foster parent.