The main issues of foster care at a national and regional level were discussed by representatives of the National Foster Care Association (NFCA), foster parents and experts. The meeting was held in the Social Service Center for Children and Families in Ruse, which is managed by the Equilibrium Association. 

The survey of the NFCA, Mtel and Gallup International about the quality of foster care and the difficulties experienced by foster parents was presented during the discussion. The Vice President of the NFCA Svetozar Rusev focused on the importance of the dialog and co-operation between social workers and foster families and encouraged the foster parents to look for assistance to solve issues present in foster care.

The foster parents indicated the safety of the foster children and families as a major issue. They related many cases in which biological parents harassed, assaulted and threatened the foster parents. Social workers from the local Child Protection Department did not provide the necessary support in those cases, instead foster parents were advised to contact the police and the prosecutor’s office directly. NFCA stressed that it is the obligation of the Child Protection Departments to inform the prosecutor and the police about cases of endangerment of the interests of children placed in foster families. This is done by sending a written signal to the prosecutor. It is the obligation of the Child Protection Departments to ensure the physical and emotional safety of the children and foster families.

The issue of providing one-time benefits upon placement of the child and not one month later was also discussed. An increase of the adjustment period between the children and their potential adoptive families was another topic of debate as was the contract on the basis of which foster parents receive their payments.

The NFCA was represented by Svetozar Rusev - Deputy Chairman of NFCA, the coordinators Maria Blagoeva (Sofia Province Coordinator), Desislava Serteva (Silistra Province Coordinator), Tsvetelina Radulova (Lovech Province Coordinator), and Ginka Ilieva (Montana Province Coordinator).

We would like to thank Vladimir Bichev for photographing the meeting.