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Foster Care for Socially Excluded Children ... |
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 Foster Care for Socially Excluded Children |
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During the period 2002 – 2003, the FDBF, in partnership with the Alliance for Children and Youth and the British Charity Childhope UK, implemented its “Foster Care for Socially excluded Children” project. The project was financed by the PHARE ACCESS Program of the European Commission. |
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The overall purpose of the project was to support the efforts of the state and local authorities to implement foster care services in Bulgaria and at the same time to create a lasting difference in the lives of the street children in Sofia.
To this end, the main project activities included training and seminars designed to introduce foster care principles, policies and the best practices to enable the social workers to undertake professional, safe and successful foster placements. In addition to this, the project published educational materials for social workers and the general public aimed at educating, raising awareness, promoting tolerance, and identifying prospective foster parents.
Over 30 social workers from the Sofia Child Protection Departments and from the Faith, Hope and Love Center (with the Alliance for Children and Youth), including a representative of the Agency for Social Assistance participated in the training modules. The interactive training methods enhanced the efficiency of the learning process and contributed to the good results achieved by the incorporation of theoretical presentations, practical exercises and role-plays.
The handbook “Foster Care and Street Children–a Guide for Social Workers” was published based on the legislation, principles, policies and best practices related to child protection and foster care. This was the first material of its kind printed in Bulgarian, dealing with the theory and implementation of foster care. Over 1,000 copies of the handbook were printed and distributed and the State Agency for Child Protection approved the handbook for use as a training manual for the education of social workers.
Also published under this initiative was "Foster Care for Street Children", a brochure targeted at potential foster parents, 6,000 copies issued. It was designed to be a part of an informational and recruitment campaign in different municipalities in Bulgaria. The brochure deals particularly with the needs of street children and the ways in which foster care can help them improve their lives. It clarifies what fostering is, what the role and responsibilities of foster care providers are, and what the requirements for being a foster care parent are according to Bulgarian legislation.
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