BECOMING A FOSTER PARENT

Should you be interested in becoming a foster parent, you can contact the organisation or follow the instructions below.  When you contact the organisation you will receive an application form which you need to complete and return to us.
The form is also below.

OUR APPROACH

At Adopt Aware SA when considering the placement of children in foster care the following principles are adhered to:

  • An important value is that a child should belong to a family.
  • It is the natural right of the child to be cared for by his parents.
  • Everything must be done to protect and develop the natural family so that care in the family can be in the best interests of the child.
  • A child’s most important bonds are those made with his/her parents. His biological family holds the primary position in his relationships and association with other people.
  • Social Work intervention must be aimed at preserving this natural right and must therefore assist the parents to perform their parental role adequately.
  • Where it is determined that the biological parent’s circumstances are not in the child’s best interest it then becomes necessary to protect the rights of the child.
  • Removal of a child from parental care is regarded as a last and extreme intervention, occurring either in an emergency situation or when all other forms of assistance have been attempted and failed and the parental home holds a serious threat to the child’s physical, mental, social, or moral well being and safety.
  • When removal of children from their parent’s care is inevitable, it must be a carefully planned, purposeful action, based on sound assessment of the prognosis of all parties concerned.
  • When a child is removed from his family through statutory intervention and is placed in alternative care, the primary place of the child’s parents in his life must be acknowledged.
  • The treatment of the parents, preservation of family ties and the child’s return to the biological family must remain the primary goal.
  • Therefore, we will first attempt to place the child within the extended family, and then within the community of origin, before looking at other possibilities.
  • When the child’s return to his family cannot occur, within a period of time congruent with his interests, then the emphasis must shift to long term substitute care, where the child can experience continued security, stability and permanency.
  • A child needs security, stability and safety for sound development.
  • A child also needs to experience permanency in their relationships with their caregivers: they must know where and by whom they will be brought up and that those people are committed to them.

The length of foster placements is determined by the children’s court and has to be reviewed prior to the expiry date of the order. During the period of placement, the biological parents have the right to have contact with their child, and the social workers will attempt to assist the parents in addressing the issues which led to the removal of the child in the first place. The preferred placement option for the children should always be with his/her biological parents unless there is sufficient evidence which verifies that this is not in the best interest of the child concerned.