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It has been in our culture and tradition that a child whose family would be passing through a difficult situation the extended family would intervene to help out in his or her upbringing. This moral contribution towards a child in need kept minors living in a family environment, a much needed ingredient for the well-being of any human being. As time passed by, society progressed, sometimes becoming complicated and problematic leaving such children with less opportunities then before. In the middle of the 20th century large institutions were build in Malta to meet the needs for children who’s family could not look after. These establishments used to cater for over 400 children in need of care. Today these institutions although they still stand have changed there outlook but still cannot replace the family experience. During the late 80’s the Department of Social Services had introduced a system where children were placed with families not related to them and give them the opportunity to enjoy the experience of family life. These situations were few and apart. No prior training were given to these foster carers who most of which would have gone in to this task with an open heart not thinking of the consequences that lay ahead for them. Later on in the 90’s the Church and State had a number of meetings regarding the subject of creating a New Foster Care System that would incorporate in it all that it requires to deliver a good service of foster care. In 1996 a document entitled the new foster care system was published. Other works followed by SWDP (Social Welfare Development Programme) such as the mind mapping of the new system, writing of policies, recommendations for the foster care legislation, the creation of training programmes for prospective foster carers and ongoing support. In the year 2000 a foster care team was created within APPOGG. This Team today supports and supervises all the foster carers in Malta and Gozo. Below is a small statistics of the number of foster care placements we had over these last 10 years.
This team also provides initial and ongoing training, assesses prospective foster care families, works on public awareness campaigns, delivers lectures at University and supervises students at placements, creates a monthly newsletter and works hand in hand with NFCAM in organising its events such as the Christmas Party, fun fairs and other social events.
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Created by Daniel Zammit |
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