On April 16, 2013 representatives of the Association met with the leadership of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. By NFCA Miroslav Dolapchiev were Chairman and members of the Board Ilia Iliev and Mary Blagoeva took participation. By the Social Ministry attended Deputy Minister Ivanka Shalapatova and experts from the Agency for Child Protection and ASA .

The meeting was opened by Ivanka Shalapatova who asked her team to present further changes that social ministry planned to do. According to her it is unexplainable to talk about professional foster care, and to have children that nobody wants, such as children with disabilities or older children.

President of NFCA Miroslav Dolapchiev thanked Deputy Minister Shalapatova for the meeting and stressed that despite earlier successive meetings with the MLSP and sent about 10 letters with over 40 questions and problems, there is no real result. The responses were formal and diverting to weaning back.

In turn, Milen Gechovski, coordinator of state foster care project, informed that at the beginning of this month have been made extending the duration of the project. The project is expected to continue as such state authorised activity. Moreover, in May will establish a working group for establishing single financial and methodological standards for foster care in the creation of which will be drawn and the National Association of Foster Care .

Here are some key questions raised at the meeting:

1. Foster parents’ wage indexation with revised minimum wage. Despite our strong arguments, the representatives of MLSP do not accept and will not change the salary of foster parents work contract. NFCA will seek legal advice and possible legal actions against MLSP.
2. Civil contracts. A new meeting date with MLSP is due to clarify the status of civil contracts and problems in implementation. As you remember, NFCA ruled that employment contracts are illegal , but the new contracts are very strange .
3. Lack of assessment of children in foster care. Maria Blagoeva questioned the lack of current estimates of all foster care children. There was a hypothesis that has been ordered foster parents to give only children who are adoption or disabled children, while others are housed in the new centre, which replaced homes. Followed by reaction of ASA, it is not true that there is no such injunction. According to government experts there is no settling, because adoptive parents have a claim and declare certain profiles. As a result of this conversation Ivanka Shalapatova ordered to be taken by increased control over the work of social workers and an analysis of foster parents refusals.
4. Long fit for children. It was agreed to descend instructions to social services, where possible, the terms of fit to be cut and to use the " by ... months" option.
5. Delayed child financial support. MLSP leadership did not know why these payments are treated as benefits after they are not. The experts were outraged that places social workers want requests returns the receipt of alimony as support.

Deputy Minister Shalapatova order to examine what causes these funds not are paid within the current month, this should be done for children benefits. We got a promise that if there was any serious obstacle, the practice of delaying financial support will be changed.