Substitue family care

Substitute family care is a form of care for a child who, for various reasons, cannot be raised in his own family. The child is raised by surrogate parents, foster parents or guardians in an environment that is closest to a natural family.

Substitute educational care (constitutional care) is intended for children who cannot be raised in their own family, nor, for various reasons, can they be adopted by a substitute family or brought up in foster care.

Characteristics of surrogate family care

Substitute family care is intended to optimally ensure the needs of children in situations:

• where rehabilitation of one's own biological family has failed (unsuitable living conditions, social immaturity of parents, addiction to alcohol and addictive substances, criminal activity of parents);
• in the case of abandoned children (broken bond between mother and child during pregnancy, single mother, minor, foreigner temporarily living in the country, mother addicted to addictive substances, ill, professional ambitions,...);
• in children found;
• for orphaned children;
• where parents cannot take care of children;
• where parents cannot take care of children;
• where parents do not want to take care of children;
• where parents abuse, neglect, battering.

A child abandoned by his family suffers from disorders of varying degrees in the field of emotions, cognitive processes, social behavior and communication, depending on the age of the child, the length of time the needs have not been met and the way to correct this situation.

The consequence of not respecting and satisfying the child's needs is frustration and even deprivation, typical of abandoned children. Frustration develops in a child whose need is no longer satisfied. Deprivation occurs in a child whose needs have never been satisfied during his life and the child is therefore incapable of not receiving certain needs.

Benefits of NRP for baby

• Stable environment - a sense of home, identification with the family environment.
• Stable educators - emotional bond, bond of a permanent character, satisfaction of the child's physical, psychological and social needs.
• Stable position in a heterogeneous group - adopting certain roles and attitudes.
• NRP should fulfill the need for stimulation, a meaningful world, life security and emotional family relationships, awareness of identity and belonging to the family, an open future perspective.

Forms of substitute family care

• ADOPTION:
  • First degree or revocable adoption. The biological parents are listed on the child's birth certificate;
  • Second degree or irrevocable adoption. Only the adoptive parents are listed in the child's birth certificate.
• FOSTER CARE:
  • We distinguish individual care provided by strangers or relatives.
  • And group care provided by SOS children's villages or special facilities for the provision of foster care (family cells).
• GUARDIANSHIP:
  • provided by the collision guardian.

Adoption (adoption)

Adoption is a union of persons that, by a court decision, acquires rights and obligations as a family (parents and children). This decision cancels the child's rights and obligations towards biological parents (amendment to the Family Act, Act No. 91/1998 Coll.). Only a legally free child can be adopted and this happens if:

• both biological parents signed consent to the adoption before the social-legal child protection body or before the court, 6 weeks after the birth of the child;
• min. 2 months after the birth, the biological parents did not show any interest in the child, although there was no obstacle preventing them from contact;
• for a period of 6 months, the biological parents did not show a real interest in the child, did not visit him, did not fulfill maintenance obligations.

Adoption is considered the most perfect form of NRP. The share of children who are released from infant institutions and children's homes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic to adoptive families is increasing. It is 15-20% which is a very good number. In addition to the "classic forms" of adoption, adoption abroad is also possible.

Foster care

Foster care is a union created on the basis of a court decision, in which foster parents do not acquire the rights of parents. Biological parents are left with or have limited parental responsibility, and if they are not relieved of parental responsibility, they can visit the child in foster care. Foster care ends when the child reaches the age of majority, but it can be terminated at any time during the process, at the request of foster parents, biological parents, child welfare authorities and the courts. Foster parents receive a financial contribution from the state. Foster parents have the right to make decisions about the child's ordinary matters, to perform extraordinary matters they request the consent of the parents, or the court will issue a decision on behalf of the parents. Before adoption or placement in foster care, the child is with the adopters or foster parents in pre-adoption or pre-foster care, monitored by a social worker and pediatrician at the place of residence.

From a legal point of view, the main difference between adoption and foster care is that adopters acquire all the rights and obligations of their own parents and the child acquires the rights and obligations of their own child, whereas foster parents and children in their care acquire only some of these rights and obligations. Foster care can be canceled at the request of the foster parent or at the proposal of the department of social and legal protection of the child. It legally ceases when the child reaches the age of majority. Recently, more and more alternative forms of foster care have been developed.

Links

Related Articles

• Family Dysfunction • Aggrieved, Abused, and Neglected Child Syndrome (CAN)
• The needs and rights of the child, the importance of the family for the development of the child
• at-risk, at-risk child, risk factors, characteristics
• Child with disabilities, chronically ill and socially maladapted child • Care system for a child with disabilities and his family
• Institutional child care

References

• Teaching materials of the Institute of Public Health and Medical Law of the 1st Faculty of Medicine, UK [1];
• DOC. KUKLA, . Náhradní rodinná péče – současný stav [lecture for subject Medicínské právo, specialization Všeobecné lékařství, 1.lékařská fakulta Univerzita Karlova]. Praha. 8.12.2011.