The Directorate for Alternative Care (Children and Young People) is taking major steps to improve foster care services. These changes are aimed at further supporting the foster care families in providing the children and young people with the stable and loving homes they need.

Foster care is essential in offering safe environments for children who face uncertain or difficult circumstances. However, with limited foster families available to meet the growing needs of children seeking care, the Directorate has an urgent need for more families to step forward.

Currently, 178 foster families across Malta have opened their homes to foster children. But despite this, the demand continues to outpace the number of available foster homes. The Directorate is particularly encouraging people to consider fostering, as many children come into the system with specific emotional and developmental needs.

Recognising the trauma that many foster children have experienced , the Directorate is proposing that each child entering care undergoes a trauma assessment.

This critical step allows professionals to identify the child’s unique needs early on, enabling them to tailor support and care effectively for both the child and foster parents. Additionally, the Directorate will remain committed to providing therapy for every child in care, ensuring they have tools for resilience, emotional health, and eventual success in adulthood.

Support doesn’t end when children reach adulthood, as the Directorate also seeks to assist young adults who have aged out of the care system, to mitigate challenges like unemployment and homelessness.

By working with various stakeholders, the Directorate is creating pathways for these young adults to enter independent adulthood with stability and support, reducing the risks they face in their transition.

The past four years have brought progress in fostering services, including 139 permanency decrees issued by the courts. These decrees grant children a stable environment, enabling Formatted: Font: Bold them to grow up with consistency and security. Additionally, over 20 children have been freed up for adoption, with six finalised this year, providing each child the opportunity to become part of a permanent family.

Despite these achievements, the need for foster carers remains high, with 29 new placements in 2024 alone. To better equip carers, the Directorate has developed a range of training programs covering essential skills, such as first aid, paediatric care, and understanding adolescent resilience.

In collaboration with other professionals, the Directorate is also offering specialised training, including nurturing connections with wide variety of professionals, to support carers during those early stages, and is offering training on understanding adolescent challenges and building resilience.

In addition to training, the service is facilitating focus groups and support groups for foster carers. These groups are key, since they provide a safe space for sharing experiences, gaining insight, and building a supportive community. Fostering can be an incredibly rewarding journey, but it can also be challenging, and no carer should ever feel isolated or unsupported.

Foster carers can now benefit from an increase in the weekly allowance. Such allowance will now be €120 per week. This €10 increase may seem modest, but it reflects the country’s commitment to valuing the contributions of foster families and ensuring they have the means to provide for the children in their care. However, there are still areas where changes are necessary. An important recommendation brought forward is the accessibility of fostering leave for more employees.

While the law provides for two months of fostering leave, most foster carers in the private sector are struggling to access it. This is an issue that needs urgent attention. The Directorate called upon both public and private sector leaders to make fostering leave accessible for all foster carers.

The demands of fostering are substantial, and carers must have the time and support needed to create stable environments for their foster children. The current legislation has enabled a fairer process for all parties involved in child protection cases. There requires to be however a healthy discussion towards more expedient procedures, regulated by legislation which prevent children under care order proceedings from having their cases taking several months in court.

Children need immediate decisions and whilst court processes should always be respected however a time frame should be introduced in our current legislation to prevent unnecessary delays.

Fostering is not only about providing shelter, but also about creating opportunity, healing, and building a foundation for children to thrive. The Directorate must continue to recruit and support foster families, improve trauma care for every child, and advocate for stronger policies that allow carers to provide the care these children deserve.

It is important to work together to ensure that every child in Malta, regardless of their background or circumstances, has the chance to grow up in a safe, nurturing home. With the combined efforts of everyone here today, the Directorate is confident it can make this vision a reality.

#MaltaDaily