Foster care fosters a stronger nation

Our Constitution is clear on the importance of the family, which is considered to be the foundation of the nation. Equally clear is the value our primary law places upon children. Children have the right to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development.

But what happens when the family of a child – the very ones who are supposed to provide a nurturing environment for the child, are found to be incapable of the same – or, at worst, actively harm, abuse or exploit the child? In such cases, the best interest of the child may require that they be separated, at least temporarily, from their biological families. But the fact that such separation is necessary does not mean that the child stops needing a “family.” It only means that the State has an obligation to find alternative means for the child to gain what a “family” provides. One of those alternatives is foster care.

When I was growing up, we became a foster family to a boy who was abandoned by his family and had no other family members to take care of him. It was something that my whole family welcomed. And although the time he spent with us was meant to help him, it ended up doing a whole lot of good for our family as well. He helped us grow to be more sensitive and mindful persons. He enriched our lives and was a blessing to our family.

Foster care is just one of several available means of alternative care. Yet a good foster home is usually a vast improvement over other forms of substitute parental care, particularly institutional care. While institutional care in large-scale facilities or state-run residential care facilities can and does play an important role in transitioning at-risk children out of hazardous or harmful family homes, such arrangements limit the ability of the child to bond with a primary caregiver, to be a part of a “family” unit. This lack can have harmful effects on the long-term development of a child. This is also the reason why the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through the determined efforts of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, is working towards facilitating the movement of the cases of children in the care of government-run residential care facilities and private child-caring agencies towards placement in a family-based setting, either through foster care or adoption within the periods prescribed by the laws and policies related to children in need of special protection.

Foster care can provide a safe setting – a family home environment, for children and teens while their biological families receive the help, healing or correction needed for them to return or while they are waiting to be adopted. While such situations can prove difficult to improve and untangle, time does not stop for the affected children – they still need a nurturing, caring environment as they grow; and a foster family can provide that. The goal of foster care is to temporarily care for the child until they can be reunited with their biological family members or until they are eventually adopted, but the effects of foster care can last a lifetime for children given such a sanctuary.

Even when separating a child from their biological family is necessary, the most ideal alternative is usually one which is as close to the family unit as possible, and foster care is one of the closest alternatives possible for temporary care.

The need for temporary care for Filipino children is vast. In 2022, the DSWD presented data which show that approximately 1,999 children were abandoned and 3,344 children were neglected from 2016 to 2021 – and these are only those that were discovered or reported. Most of these children are placed in residential care facilities and there remains a deep and pressing need for more licensed foster parents and foster families.

The full requirements for becoming licensed foster parents can be found on the website of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC www.nacc.gov.ph/accd-foster-parent/), the quasi-judicial body which was created through legislation in 2022 to streamline the process of adoption through administrative adoption and to consolidate jurisdiction over matters of adoption and alternative child care, including foster care. The NACC, through the leadership of Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada, has been working very hard to drum up support for the foster care program in the Philippines and has partnered with several local government units (LGUs) to localize the program in specific areas.

Foster care is a complex yet important mode of temporary substitute parental care. It requires both the natural, spontaneous warmth of a family and the learned expertise to integrate a vulnerable, often traumatized child into such an environment. A foster care program requires resources to properly train and support prospective foster parents to manage expectations because fostering is not adoption, but if possible, neither should ties be expected to be completely severed after the arrangement ends. The foster care program should also ensure accountability and transparency for the good of the children. There must be structures in place for the aging out of foster children to prepare them for independent adult living (such as the KAYA KO! Program of the NACC), as well as more coordination between national and local governments.

I know there are many families out there who have so much love in their hearts to share with the thousands of Filipino children who are abandoned, neglected, abused and exploited, and who need the love and security that a family can provide. I encourage these families to foster or adopt through the NACC. Adoption is now done administratively and may be completed in as fast as six months.

There is much work to be done to help improve the lives of children who are separated from their birth families, but with patience, support and care, a new – albeit temporary – family can be created, so that the future happiness of these most vulnerable of Filipinos will not be curtailed. If the family is the foundation of our nation, it is imperative that every effort be made to mend and support it, and provide one to those who lack it. Foster care not only fosters hope, it fosters a stronger foundation for our nation.