Foster care – what is it?
Foster care is a form of care provided to children when their biological parents are unable to adequately care for them for various reasons. A child's placement in foster care is made by court order and is based on concerns for their well-being. Foster care is temporary and is intended to ensure children's safety and provide them with the space to develop properly, despite previous challenges they may have encountered in their family home.
Appropriate laws specify who can apply for foster care and when. However, if there is reasonable suspicion that a child is at risk in their biological family, an "intervention order" may be initiated—that is, a temporary change of the child's residence (e.g., the child is placed in a family emergency shelter). A qualified social worker participates in this procedure, and if the situation appears particularly dangerous, uniformed services may be called to the scene.
There are two forms of foster care: family-based and institutional. Here's the structure of available foster care options in Gdynia:
The structure of Gdynia's forms of care
This stems from the Act on Family Support and the Foster Care System. The Act also provides for other forms of institutional foster care, but only those found in Gdynia are presented below.
It focuses on providing children with conditions as close as possible to those found in a family. This form is closest to a typical family, although in some cases, it includes large families. Family care includes kinship, non-professional, and professional families, as well as family children's homes. In Gdynia, approximately 80% of children in care benefit from this form of care.
Professional foster families caring for a larger number of children (up to 8, although the number may be increased with the consent of the caregivers and after obtaining a positive opinion from the family foster care coordinator).
People trained to act as foster or adoptive parents who support family care in the event of leave or unforeseen circumstances
They must have the required qualifications and receive remuneration for their role. They care for a smaller number of children (up to three). It is closest to a typical family, although in some cases, it may have many children. Family care includes kinship, non-professional, and professional families, as well as family children's homes. In Gdynia, approximately 80% of children in care receive this type of care.
Families/people closest related to the child (often grandparents or adult siblings).
The child's extended family and unrelated individuals receive no remuneration for their role.
They must have the required qualifications and receive remuneration for their role. They care for a smaller number of children (up to three).
A temporary form where children from intervention are placed.
They care for children with disabilities.
In the public consciousness, they are known as "children's homes." Over the years, the nature of institutional care has changed significantly. Large facilities have been consistently phased out. Currently, institutional care is small, intimate settings where a maximum of a dozen children are cared for by educators. These are care and educational facilities where children receive care from professional staff. In Gdynia and other Polish cities and towns, there are small, intimate care and educational facilities that typically house no more than a dozen children.
Places with socialization profiles combining socialization and intervention tasks, where there are a larger number of children (up to 14).
Places with family profiles, where there are fewer children (up to 8) and the leaders are married or single people.