The most recent statistics available about the Foster Care Grants suggest that nearly 400 000 children in South Africa are in foster care. This is a huge amount of children that are currently being care for by someone who cared enough to raise their hand and be part of the solution in our country.

What is foster care and how can you become part of this program in a country that is facing severe problems in the family structures.

Foster care is where vulnerable children are taken care of by approved adults, whom offers them a place of safety and provision when their biological families are not able to provide this

If you want to look after a child who is in need of care and protection, you have to apply to the Department of Social Development or an accredited child protection organisation for permission to foster the child. An example of such an organisation is the House of Hope project in Stateway, right here in Welkom.

Who qualifies to be a foster child?

• The child must be under 18 years of age and/or:
• have been abandoned or orphaned and be without any visible means of support
• display behaviour which cannot be controlled by the parent or care-giver
• be living on the streets or begging for a living
• be addicted to a dependence-producing substance and without any support to obtain treatment for such dependency
• have been exploited or exposed to exploitation
• be at risk if returned to the custody of the parent, guardian or care-giver
• be in a state of physical or mental neglect, maltreated, abused or degraded by a parent, a care-giver, a person who has parental responsibilities and rights or a family member or by a person under whose control the child is.

Who qualifies to be a foster parent?

To qualify as a foster parent, you must be:

• 18 years or older
• fit and proper
• willing and able to look after the child
• able to provide a favourable environment for the child's growth and development.

You can only foster a child for the period indicated in the court order. Once the indicated period of the court order has lapsed, the presiding officer may, after reviewing the recommendation from the social worker, extend the period of the court order

How does the process work?

1. Apply to your nearest Department of Social Development office or an accredited child protection organisation to foster a child.
2. You will be referred to a social worker who will conduct an investigation.
3. The social worker will assess you and the child.
4. You will have to submit the following:
   • an affidavit stating that the child is abandoned (if applicable)
   • death certificates of the parents (if applicable)
   • birth certificate of the child. If the child does not have a birth certificate, the social worker will assist you in obtaining the birth certificate
   • your identity document.
5. The biological parents must be involved in the process.
6. If you do not know where the biological parents are, the social worker will assist you in placing an advertisement in newspapers for one month, calling on them to come forward.
7. If the biological parents do not come forward, the process will proceed.
8. The child must be involved in the entire process.
9. The social worker will compile a report and present it to the Children’s Court with recommendations.
10. Based on the social worker’s report, the presiding officer at the court may find the child to be in need of care and protection.
11. The presiding officer will issue a court order approving the placement of the child with the foster parent. The court order will show the names of the foster parent, the foster child and the duration of the foster placement.

The structure of families have changed so much in the past few years, and it has become a reality that children are removed from dangerous situations and then fostered by caring and loving foster parents.

We raise our hats to these institutions and families who open their homes and hearts to children when they need it the most

https://www.gov.za/services/adopt-child/foster-care