During the past three years the number of foster parents in the country has dropped dramatically.
This number has declined from more than 570 000 foster parents at the end of 2013 to the 450 000 foster parents in 2016. Solidarity Helping Hand has launched a special platform to address the shortage of foster parents by making the process for potential foster parents easier. Warrior baby now has a home
Potential foster parents grapple with so many questions about foster care which prevent them from volunteering to become foster parents. That is why Helping Hand has created the platform www.pleegsorg.co.za to answer those questions. Prospective foster parents or persons who would make their home available as a place of safety can register on this website. Their details will also be furnished to child protection organisations responsible for the selection process.
According to Isabel Faurie, Helping Hand’s social worker, a serious shortage of foster parents and families who could offer their homes as a place of safety in times of crisis is being experienced in the Eastern Cape in particular. This needs to be addressed. “In the Eastern Cape in particular, one of the most densely populated provinces in the country, the number of foster parents has dropped to just over 107 000. Hundreds of children are looking for a loving home and potential foster parents should not shy away from jumping on board to make a difference.”
Helping Hand does not have statutory powers to place children in foster care, but by dealing with poverty among white people they are aware of deficiencies in the system. The website, pleegsorg.co.za, explains in depth what foster care involves and clarifies the rights of the foster parent, those of the biological parents as well as the rights of the foster child. Prospective foster parents can use the site to volunteer for foster care.
Foster care means that a child is placed with approved foster parents if he or she has been declared in need of care by the Children’s Court, in terms of the Children’s Act.
Reasons for removing children from parental care include physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse, physical and/or emotional neglect, severe conflict within the family as well as domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse by the parents, and unstable social functioning.
“However, the challenges of providing foster care should not be underestimated and therefore it is extremely important that prospective foster parents should undergo thorough screening to ensure that the needs of the child will be met holistically,” Faurie explained. “All the necessary information about the process is available at www.pleegsorg.co.za.”
Members of the public interested in becoming foster parents may register on the foster care platform, and then they will be brought into contact with social service organisations urgently looking for foster parents.
If you and your family would like to make a difference in the life of a traumatised child by providing a loving and stable household through foster care or a place of safety, please consult our website: www.pleegsorg.co.za or SMS “pleegsorg” to 38969 to donate R10 to Helping Hand’s foster care fund. The foster care fund is used to pay for the additional needs of children in foster care, such as occupational therapy, speech therapy and counselling.
