Foster care seeking Big-hearted Trinbagonians 

PART II: The Catholic News interviewed Children’s Authority Team Lead Foster Care, Anjuli Tewari on July 20 about implementation of the foster care system in Trinidad and Tobago. The first part ran last week.

The Children’s Authority (CA) website states foster care is “a temporary option for children who are not able to live with their birth families due to a range of different circumstances. The ultimate goal of foster care is to provide a safe, stable and nurturing home environment for children until such time that they can be reunited with their family, or until such time that other suitable long-term living arrangements can be made.”

Who can be a foster parent? Singles or couples: “It does not have to be a traditional nuclear family,” said Tewari. There are newborns to teens in need of a home.

“Upon approval we can place almost immediately once a child is available. The only thing that will keep it back is if somebody says for example ‘I only want a three-year-old girl’. If it is you have specific criteria it will take a little longer.”

As outlined on the website the process begins after an application is submitted with supporting documents e.g. a Medical and police Certificate of Character. Background checks are done of adults in the household, as well as in-depth interviews and home and psychological assessments.

The applicant must also receive basic training. As a preventive measure, when foster parents are evaluated information is also sought on their “support network” to be included in assessment.

Tewari said, “As you know abuse typically happens with people who are close to the family so we want to make sure when we are placing a child in the home we’ve looked at that village which is looking after the child.”

Where possible upon or prior to placement the child undergoes a multi-disciplinary assessment looking into their background and the types of interventions needed. Therefore, a determination can be made on the best placement. Final approval is given by the Care Committee of the CA before the applicant is listed on the register of approved foster care providers.

The CA had a big recruitment drive for foster parents last September using newspaper ads, radio, television and cinema animation to capture public attention and provide information. Tewari said foster care is a “turn off” because it is temporary; adoption is generally preferred.

“It’s been a bit trying to educate and inform people that foster care is a good alternative to adoption and it can be so meaningful because we do want to preserve families where we can and foster care allows us to do that. It buys us some time.”

The recruitment campaign generated a “huge response” between September and January, with more than 200 telephone enquiries. However, there were only 20 actual applications.

She said, “It is still about educating people, letting them know what it’s about and really the need. We need it so badly. We have a waiting list of children.”  She could not provide a figure because the number varied week to week.

Another initiative was collaboration with the Adoption Unit to review the persons on the long waiting list for adoption to find out if any would be willing to try foster care. About 15 agreed. Tewari said, “They stayed on the adoption waiting list and doing foster care in the interim; some have been already paired with children and they are doing really well.”

If a home cannot be found with a fit person, or through adoption or foster care, a child can be placed in a children’s home. Tewari said these institutions are doing their best but are “overwhelmed”. She added, “A family environment is the best place for a child to heal and prosper.”

Tewari was optimistic in a religious society like T&T there are many “big-hearted” citizens who may be willing but are unaware of the foster care system. Through its recruitment, she said the CA has been trying to target persons with the skills and experience to care for children with disabilities.

A stipend is given for foster parents to provide for the child’s basic needs and some additional financial assistance in times of emergencies.