The new solutions will contribute to the improved situation of children in the foster care system and of the foster families as well as speed up and expand the scale of adoption of children with clear legal situation by the new families.

The draft involves increasing the minimum remuneration for the professional foster families, persons the family children homes and assistance families.

Central register to streamline the procedures

Introducing the systemic de-regionalisation elements will enable the candidate foster parents applying for qualifications throughout the country, similarly as attending trainings at the area of entire Poland.

Extending the rights to holidays for the parents from 7 to 14 years of a child’s age on the same principles that apply to the natural parents will increase the interest in adoption of older children.

A central foster care register is a novelty. It will streamline workflow of family courts and foster care organisers, including in particular the family foster care, which in this case means the poviat family assistance centres. Due to easy access to information, this instrument will prevent sending the minors to children’s homes despite the presence of several hundred to a thousand free places in the family foster care.

No new children’s homes

The prohibition to establish the new educational care facilities that is the new children’s homes is an essential change. The new homes will be established only in the exceptional cases, upon prior consent of the Voivode – emphasised Deputy Minister Socha.

According to the Deputy Minister’s opinion, the option of one-time return of a young adult, who decided to gain immediate independence after turning 18, to foster care, has been impatiently awaited and positively received by the foster families.