Welcome to the website of the Foster Families Central!

About the Foster Families Center:

Welcome to the website of the Foster Families Central. On this website you will find information on how to join our foster care program.

Background:

The Foster Families Center (F.F.C.) is a department of the Foundation Judiciary Institutes Windward Islands (F.J.I.W.I.). The F.F.C. was officially opened on August 20, 2008 by the former Minister of Justice, Mr. David Dick in the presence of partners within the Judicial and Social Chain on St. Maarten. The establishment of the Foster Families Center was made possible through the Safety Program Netherlands Antilles and financed through the ‘Uitvoeringsorganisatie Stichting Ontwikkeling Nederlandse Antillen’ (U.S.O.N.A.), with Dutch Development Funds.

Objectives:

The objective of the Foster Families Central is to increase the availability of foster parents on St. Maarten, through professionalizing foster care and developing a strong community partnership that supports the objectives, programs and target population of the F.F.C.

Mission:

The Foster Families Center exists to support and strengthen foster parents and to promote the importance of foster care in the Windward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, through:

• Functioning as a recruitment agency for foster parents
• Providing information and social support to foster parents
• Networking and representation on behalf of foster parents
• Advocacy on behalf of the organization and foster parents

Theme:

The theme of the Foster Families Center is ‘A Family for Every Child’. This is a reflection of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. In this Convention it states that every child has the right to a family, care and a proper upbringing, and that a child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose best interest cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State.

Products and services:

Since the official opening, the Foster Families Center has established the following products and services:

• Development of a work plan with guidelines for the functioning of for the F.F.C.
• Assessment of Foster Care and Child Protection on St. MaartenDevelopment of the ‘A Family for Every Child’ foster Care DVD
• 2009 Regional Foster Care Conference on St. Maarten, from April 22 – 24, 2009
• Foster Care Appreciation Dinner, April 24, 2009
• Development of brochures and posters to promote foster care
• Development of an adapted STAP (Selectie Training Aspirant Pleegouders) Lesson Plan/Curriculum for the training of candidate Foster Parents
• Training of STAP Course Trainers
• Training of candidate Foster Parents
• Development of a Foster Families Center Website

The following products are being developed:

• Foster Care Manual, which can be used as a guideline by all foster carers
• Foster Care Birthday and Events Calendar

Future products and service:

• Development and production of a Regional Foster Care Network website
• Foster Care commercial DVD
• Foster Parenting Trainers course: sexual, physical and emotional abuse, abandonment, and neglect of children
• Purchase of training DVDs for foster parents, about foster parenting
• Development and production of parenting information booklet
• Establishment of a foster parents platform
• Purchase of training and observation equipment