Asia Conference on Child Rights and Foster Care

 

Seoul, S. Korea – 16th September 2006.

“Foster Partnerships – International Experiences”

 

A Paper by

 

Keith Henderson

President of the International Foster Care Organisation.

 

 Foster Partnerships – International Experiences

「里子養育の連携と国際的な経験」

「アジア子供の権利と里親会議2006」来賓挨拶。

Asia Conference on Child Rights and Foster Care

 リスト戻る Back to list

Keith Henderson

President of the International Foster Care Organisation.

Seoul, S. Korea16th September 2006.

ソウル、韓国 2006年9月16日。

キース・ヘンダーソン

国際里子養育機構IFCO会長

 

 

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and straightaway let me thank you most sincerely for inviting me here today to speak at your conference on Child Rights and Foster Care. 

 

Let me also congratulate you on your conference.  I am impressed with the array of quality speakers you have here and this reflects positively on the Korean Foster Care Association and those in the community and Government that support you in your work.

 

Let me tell you a small bit about myself.  As you can see from the grey hair, I am not in the full flush of youth!    In the context of the family, I am a married man who is retired from an insurance company.  My wife, Ruth and I are foster parents who are retired but we fostered children short term and long term for 20 years.  We have a foster son who is out of the care system and who we have legally adopted.    In Ireland where I come from there is a rule that you cannot foster a child long term if the age gap between you and the child is more than 40 years.  As children come out of care at 18 years of age, we are now ineligible – now I am giving away my age to you all.  We have four other adult daughters and three grandchildren and another one on the way.  This is the third of three distinct child rearing experiences in a lifetime of rearing children.  First our own children, then our foster children and now our grandchildren. It has been wonderful.  Much of it has been down to the partnership of fostering and the family that we experienced.  More of that later.

 

I think that it is also important to set the scene by telling you a little bit about the history of IFCO – the International Foster Care Organisation.   IFCO is the only international organisation working exclusively in the area of foster care.  It was founded in 1981 so this year we celebrate our 25th birthday.  It was at a conference in The Netherlands that the embryonic organisation was formed.  Delegates from 20 countries sat down and agreed the aims of the organisation. The determination and ability then, for an international body, to reach a workable understanding, was amazing. Few had envisaged the difficulties in communication that would be experienced in trying to use one language – English! As an experience of partnership it was a great success.  The initial aims then are still reflected in our mission and strategy today. Then they were:

 

-       to inform about foster care

-       to promote and encourage the development of this branch of Social Work

-       to bring the Foster Care system to a higher level

-       to defend the right of every child to family life without loss of the child’s own identity and history.

 

Our mission statement today is:  “IFCO promotes family based care solutions for ‘out of home’ children in accordance with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child by:

  • Enabling the exchange of information among persons and organisations of different nations
  • Promoting Foster Care as an important type of family based care
  • Organising international conferences and training seminars.
  • Consultation
  • Networking
  • Publications
  • Assistance

 

IFCO believes that foster care must be an inclusive teamwork effort between carers, social workers, the placing agencies, the birth parent, the child/young person and others who contribute to the child’s welfare.  In accordance with the UNCRC we say that respect for diversity is essential   Experience must be valued. The organisation is always open to new ideas.  Above all IFCO believes that care should be child centred and family focussed.  All our work centres around benefiting the child in care.

 

 Partnership can mean different things to different people.  For the purposes of this paper, I am talking about a group or groups of people or organisations who are working and sharing together for a common good.

 

It is in this context therefore that I would like to share with you some of the detail of the work that IFCO is involved in with others to illustrate how partnership is working in the field of foster care.

 

Firstly, though, I thought it would be interesting to tell you a little about foster care in Ireland and how partnership and co-operation have developed there.  Back in the early 1990s, the Irish government was waking up to the realisation that there had been terrible abuses of some children in institutional care which were mainly run by the religious orders.  Much of what had happened previously is well documented and the government have made a public apology.  This realisation also gave impetus to the policy for care of children who could not live with their own families.  It was decided that foster care was the preferred option and new and improved childcare legislation was passed into the statute books.  

 

At that time the Irish Foster Care Association had been lobbying the government on various issues like support and services.   The association had successfully made a bid to host an IFCO conference in Dublin in 1993.  As this was a big newsworthy event, they sought a partnership arrangement with the government who agreed to help financially and administratively.  This led to further collaboration with government over the years and now the association provides services in the areas of training and mediation and funding is provided by central government.  It has been a very successful arrangement. 

 

Ireland has a population of 4.2 million and there are 5000 children and young people in out of home care.  Of these 4500 are in foster care and there is now no institutional care in Ireland.  The balance of children and young people are in group type/residential home accommodation and a small number are in secure accommodation following criminal activity.

 

Nowadays, apart from the protecting legislation for children and young people there are published national standards for foster care and an independent social services inspectorate to ensue the standards are met and maintained. There is a separate ministry for children that spans education, justice and health.  There is also an ombudsman for children and there is even a parliament for children.

 

So how does all this happen in a short space of time?  The answer is that there was willingness and a commitment to face the issues and to share and work with people who are experts.     It was also about building relationships and trust.  But most of all it recognises that children are the future. 

 

According to statistics, HIV/AIDS has caused havoc to families globally and is having a devastating impact on the world’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.  An estimated 20 million people have already died from the disease worldwide and some 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS today.  This situation is worse in sub-Sahara Africa where many people have succumbed to the pandemic and many are infected. In 2003, a total of 30 million people were living with HIV/AIDS. Out of this number ten million were young people (aged 15–24) and almost 3 million were children under 15 years of age.

 

One of the most troubling consequences of the epidemic’s growing reach is the number of children it has orphaned.  Statistics has it that some 13 million children under the age of 15 years have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS related deaths, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is estimated that by 2010 this number will jump to more than 25 million. HIV/AIDS will still cause large-scale suffering among children for a long time to come.  The pandemic encompasses today economic, social and cultural dimensions and ceases to be only a health issue.

 

The major issues affecting these orphaned and vulnerable children are disinheritance, early marriage, school drop out, discrimination, stigmatization, inability to access health and education because of poverty and responsibilities related to bringing up other siblings, among others. Child abuse, neglect, exploitation and trafficking are sadly other issues on the agenda of priorities regarding the children affected by HIV/AIDS.

IFCO advocates for the support of alternative community- and family-based solutions for the children affected, directly or indirectly, by HIV/AIDS. This calls for:

 

-          The will to promote and improve the family-based solutions for children orphaned or abandoned : extended family placement, community placement, foster care as best solutions for the children, provided that the needs and rights of the children are fulfilled

 

-          The development of support, training, monitoring services for those family-based solutions, to prevent abuse, neglect or exploitation of orphaned and vulnerable children

 

-          The development of specific services and allowances for child-headed households

 

-          Limiting the residential and institutionalised care to temporary solutions

 

-          The support of social services development in communities

 

-          The development of local networks of foster and kin carers

 

-          The development of regional and international networks to facilitate local initiatives and capacity-building, through the exchange of good practices and lessons learnt

 

-          The advocacy and lobbying to achieve these goals locally, nationally and internationally.

 

 

IFCO, in cooperation with local partners, develops projects to support families and children in need in-country.  In Kenya, there are 1.3million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.  Every day there are 1300 new orphans.  The problems are immense.  We are currently working in partnership with another NGO in Kenya to present a project of education and training for the government to implement.  Our aim is to recognise local and cultural conditions and solutions.

 

And it does not end there - the Caribbean is also an area of serious concern as it is second after Africa in the incidence of HIV/AIDS. In Asia, your region, the number of HIV/AIDS infected people is growing rapidly.

 

But let me give you some good news.  In 2004, three NGOs in Europe, including IFCO, got together in partnership to formulate a pan European project to develop standards for children in out of home care.   It is nearing its finalisation now. There are 32 countries involved in this project.   The co-operation has been extraordinary.  The methodology is unique in that it uses the stories from each country of those in care, their care givers and the professionals and academics.  Good practices were extracted from these stories, when analysed, of the individuals experiences of out of home care.  These were verified with the storytellers at each point of the process.  It has been a bottom up process and has worked extremely well.   So I hear you ask – ‘What are you going to do with the finished standards?’  The standards will be presented to each of the 32 governments in 2007 with a recommendation that they implement them as a minimum uniform set of standards in Europe.

 

IFCO have also been working in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry for Welfare and Care and the Romanian Government.  The objective of this project is the assessment of the current status of the maternal assistance (foster care) network in Romania and the development of the action plan for the further development and diversification of the network.  The network was developed to support the de-institutionalisation of childcare in Romania and to support children’s rights to grow up in a family environment.  Part of focus of the project is directed towards the improvement of the services for children with special needs and disabilities.    The technical assistance involved project management, an assessment of the legislative framework and advice on the development of foster care legislation; Preparation and conducting of the assessment with countrywide disseminated questionnaires and detailed site visits and interviews with all the parties in the system; a comparative analysis of the foster care practices in Europe and the development of a national plan of action presented and debated at a national conference.

 

Also in Romania, we have been providing technical assistance to develop a training curricula for child protection committees throughout the country on the implications of the UNCRC and the Educational Campaign on Family Issues and Children’s Rights in Romania.   The curricula are developed for mixed professional groups and local social workers to support the de-institutionalisation process and the implementation of the new developed legislation on children’s rights.  A good practice guide has been produced and a guide describing the methodology for provision of preventative services for local social workers. Advice is given on the awareness campaign and uses materials and methodology for raising the awareness of the general public and the promotion of the rights of Children for professionals in the field.

 

On the educational side, IFCO, as the international partner, is involved with others from Sweden, United Kingdom, Austria, Poland and Italy in the development of a European vocational education for trainers of foster carers; a train the trainer competence development package.  Input is provided in the development of the training curriculum, accreditation of the package and the training of the trainers.   Testing and co-operation with partners in Central and Eastern Europe through IFCO’s “East-East” network is part of our task as will the dissemination of the final package.  Although the package is developed in Europe, it will be made available through IFCO to the rest of the world.  The launch will be at our conference in New Zealand next February.

 

We have a policy to develop Networks and see this as critical to the development of foster care and foster care services globally. 

 

We have formed a network in Eastern Europe which we call our ‘East-East’ network.  It encompasses countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic and CIS States.  IFCO has held two training seminars in the Czech Republic in 2004 and Slovakia this year in June.  They have had a significant impact on the exchange of information and networking in the region.  These seminars have attracted the policy makers who have been able to listen to the people who matter – children and young people themselves.

 

In 2003 the IFCO conference in Argentina led, on a voluntary basis, to the establishing of the network in Latin America.   The network membership now numbers in excess of 190 in most of the countries in the region.   Our work through this network has now led to sponsorship for the 2006/2007 year and a conference is planned for 2007 to bring together all the interested parties in the region – a unique achievement.   The basis of development will be through a local committee with a paid coordinator which will ensure that our principle of ensuring local people have the say in what happens.  In Argentina the Government has enacted new children’s legislation and we have been involved in the process.  Argentina is going through a transition period after the introduction of this new national law of integral protection for children.    This is, therefore, a good time to install the foster care alternative in the public eye   and leave behind the "Patronato" mentality that existed for over 80 years in that country and separated children from their families unnecessarily, deprived them of their freedom, and imprisoned thousands of kids (around 25.000 according to certain statistics) into institutions (80% of them for mainly poverty reasons, and only a 20% for crimes committed). It is time now for Argentina, for example, to really fulfil the terms of the UN Convention  which they ratified in 1990 and incorporated to their National Constitution in 1994.

We need to raise awareness in a country like Argentina where there are 12 million children (35% of the population) and where 7 out of every 10 are poor; where around 70 children die per day due to evitable causes; where the distribution of wealth is 1 to 44; where almost half of the country lives below the poverty line.

In this context, we need to support children's rights more than ever and this can only be done through partnership and cooperation.

 

Closer to home you will know of the important cooperation between IFCO and the KFCA in 2004 and 2005.  The cooperation reflected the concluding observations on Korea by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Together we were involved in a project which aimed at improving the system of Foster Care here in order to support the de-institutionalisation process and also support the advocacy to the government on the right of children to grow up in a family environment.  Round table and Stakeholder meetings were organised to analyse the situation and to make an action plan for improvement.  Meetings with some of your ministers and policy makers were organised and advice provided to social workers and others in the organisation.   Training was developed to a wide audience of foster carers, professional workers and university students.  I will be interested to hear how this work has developed since.  I know that there is work in progress by KFCA to:

 

  • Improve awareness by and educate on the benefits of foster care  to the Civil Service and levels of Government
  • Advocate for legislation which enables and supports the operation of foster care in Korea.
  • Provide training to Korean social workers and foster care providers that is in line with international best practice.
  • Liaise and forge closer links with international foster care groups including IFCO.
  • Conduct research in Korea to ensure the best model of foster care for Koreans.
  • Build a professional library and resource centre of international best practice in the field of foster care.

 

One of the ways that this can start to happen is the establishment of a network of organisations and individuals in the Asia Region.  IFCO has that network in embryonic form and have been forging links in countries such as the Phillipines, India and Pakistan and it would be important that Korea and all other countries from region present here, are part of that network.  You have here as an eminent speaker and a recognised expert M/s Angela Maria Pangan who is the IFCO Asia Network Coordinator and who is a board member of IFCO.   She brings with her an extensive knowledge of out of home care for children and I urge you to give her your support as she leads the network in its important work.

 

I know a young man who was taken into long term foster care when he was three months old.  He is now 21 years old and still lives with his foster family although he is now adopted by them.   This young man grew up with low self esteem , he never did know his father but did meet his mother who was mentally handicapped.   He rebelled during his teenage years and got involved with a drug culture.  His foster family and the social work team still supported him although he was difficult and on occasions violent.  He ran away for a period of time and his foster family and the social work team still supported him.  Gradually he changed and agreed to complete his education.  It was then that he heard that his mother had died accidentally in a fire in her apartment.  It was then that he met many of his hitherto unknown relations for the first time at his mother’s funeral.  He still received support from his foster family and the social work team.  He is now a qualified motor mechanic and will tell you if you ask that the girl he  marries will need to be someone who is prepared to be a foster parent.  He grew up saying to himself “I was born not to make it” but now would add to that ‘but I did”.   This is a success story and a tribute to everyone (including the young man) working together in partnership and understanding.  How do I know all this – well this young man is Joseph my son.

 

IFCO is working hard locally and internationally in a spirit of partnership and cooperation to improve the rights of children particularly those in foster care.  You can help by joining our organisation and being part of the Asia Network which gives access to contacts in the region and also internationally.  We need your help too – by giving a little you will help a lot.

 

Keith Henderson

September 2006.