Requirements for foster families
Anyone who would like to apply for the role of a foster parent in the future must meet several conditions provided for in the Act. From my parents' experience - there are also some features that may be useful.
The requirements are set out in point 42 of the Act on supporting the family
and foster care system. Its current version can be found here: link
What are the requirements for candidates?
Below you will find the act and comments that will help you better understand the requirements for people who want to become one of the foster families in Poland
Warranty of proper custody
Candidates testify to their behavior that they will perform well as a foster parent.
No deprivation of parental authority
They are not and have not been deprived of parental responsibility, and parental responsibility is not limited or suspended for them. This means that the catalog of people who can become a foster family / RDD excludes people who were deprived of parental authority and those who, at the time of actually applying for a foster family, are limited or suspended in parental authority over their own biological children.
Fulfilling a maintenance obligation
They fulfill the maintenance obligation - if the obligation arises from an enforcement order. Especially in the case of awarding maintenance by a court decision or recognizing them with a court settlement.
Legal capacity
Candidates are not limited in legal capacity. Limited legal capacity occurs in the case of minors and partially incapacitated persons. Thus, a person who is incapacitated, even if only partially, cannot act as a foster family.
Caring capacity
These people are capable of taking proper care of the child, which was confirmed by certificates of no health contraindications and an opinion about having predispositions and motivation to act as a foster family or to run a family orphanage issued by a psychologist.
Staying on the territory of Poland
Candidates are staying on the territory of the Republic of Poland,
with the note that v in the case of foreigners, their stay is legal.
It is worth adding here that it is possible - only temporarily
- custody of the child outside the territory of Poland, by the family / RDD, in which the child was placed earlier (with the consent of the staroste). It is also allowed to temporarily entrust custody - with the consent of the starost - to a foster family or to a family orphanage who do not live in the territory of the Republic of Poland, provided that they exercise foster care over the siblings of this child. In such a case, the staroste should consult and take into account the opinion of the organizer of family foster care and specify the time for which the consent is issued.
Providing living conditions
They will provide the child with appropriate living and housing conditions enabling them to meet their individual needs, including:
a) emotional, physical and social development,
b) proper education and development of interests,
c) rest and organization of free time
It should be recognized that the criterion of "appropriate living conditions" is an evaluation criterion that has not been precisely specified. Its fulfillment is assessed by the organizer of foster care.
A non-professional or professional foster family and running a family orphanage may be entrusted to persons who have not been convicted by a final judgment for an intentional crime.
In the case of a non-professional foster family, at least one person creating this family must have a permanent source of income.
What are the qualities useful for foster parents?
Features by which you can conclude that foster parenting
is a mission for you:
• sense of mission and empathy
• openness to work with children
• a lot of patience
• engagement
• willingness to do good
• responsibility