Your way to foster care
As a foster family, you make a valuable contribution by giving children from troubled family systems a new and stable place to live, either temporarily or for the longer term.
Your love, care and support enable these children to grow up and develop in a safe environment. Your dedication and commitment help to give these children better prospects for the future and enable them to develop positively.
We accompany and coach you through your care relationship!
The familea Center for Foster Children supports you in the area of foster care for the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. We offer you various services tailored to the needs of Care relationships and referring specialist agencies.
Our support covers various areas, including advice, mediation and training, Accompaniment and support throughout the entire fostering relationship. Our aim is to provide both foster families and foster children with the best possible support and to provide them with the necessary resources and tools to enable successful and stable foster care relationships.
Our support for foster parents
During the recording process:
- Support in the decision process to become a foster family
- Specific training modules in several basic courses focusing on the following topics
- Access to an extensive library of specialized topics for foster families and foster children
After receiving the care place permit:
- Accompaniment of the Mediation process and at the introductory meeting
- Advice in the decision making process
- Consulting and coaching of the Care relationship through regular telephone calls and home visits depending on the Companion mode with a permanent specialist. The specialist will provide assistance with pedagogical questions and reflect with you on observations relating to the foster child. If necessary, you will receive support with administrative procedures with the authorities.
- Moderated Foster parent groups offer you the opportunity to regularly exchange ideas with other foster families. In addition to informal exchanges, the meetings enable foster families to reflect on their own fostering relationship and their role. The moderation creates a supportive framework in which you can share your experiences, learn from others and receive valuable support to successfully manage your fostering tasks.
- Follow-up after return to the parents of origin, withdrawal or termination of a Care relationship
The Center for Foster Children bundles central tasks in the foster child system:
Placement of foster families
When referring specialist agencies contact us looking for a foster family for a child, we draw from a pool of certified and trained foster families, who are willing to take in children and young people who cannot live with their biological parents temporarily or for a longer period of time.
We support you in your search for a suitable foster family to ensure that the foster child and foster family can enter into a successful foster relationship. We take into account the individual wishes and needs of all parties involved and accompany the placement process from initial contact to placement.
Our experience and expertise enable us to find the best possible match (Agreement between foster child and foster family) and thus create a stable and loving center of life for the child.
Support for care relationships
We continue to support you even after a child has been placed in a foster family. Our services include professional Accompaniment, which is individually tailored to the needs and resources of the child, the foster family and the family of origin. Our aim is to promote and protect the child's well-being at the placement location. We are always available to answer any questions, concerns or difficulties you may have. We offer regular discussions, home visits, telephone calls and e-mails. We also organize group offers, exchange meetings and further training for foster families.
Regular further training enables them to deal with the challenges of the caregiving relationship and to grow with them.
What is a specialized care family?
A specialist foster family is a family or individual who specializes in caring for foster children. In order to take on this role, they take part in a three-part preparatory course on the subject of foster care, undergo a Suitability clarification and will be presented as part of a Companion mode supported by the Center for Foster Children (ZPK). All foster families supported by the ZPK are qualified as specialist foster families.
No professional pedagogical qualification or experience with foster children is mandatory for this role.
The specialist foster families in the Center for Foster Children's pool have the Suitability process and have a valid license to work in the Care place permit for short-term or long-term care. Some foster families even provide both forms of care.
In the cantons of Basel-Stadt (BS) and Basel-Landschaft (BL), families who care for related foster children can also work as specialized foster families.
The ZPK accompanies its specialist foster families throughout the entire fostering relationship and supports them in their important task of providing children with a stable and loving home.
Companion mode, what does that mean in concrete terms?
The Companion mode in the context of foster care relationships describes the type and intensity of support that a specialized foster family receives. Here are the four different support modes that exist depending on the canton and the individual case:
1st base (BL)
- A permanent employee of the Center for Foster Children (ZPK) has monthly telephone contact with the foster family.
- The foster family will at least three times a year visited in person.
- Once a year finds a Site visit with all those involved.
3. standard (BS)
- A permanent employee has telephone contact every two weeks with the foster family.
- The foster family will six times a year visited in person.
- Once a year finds a Site visit with all those involved.
2. special accompaniment (BL)
- In the Basic mode, accompanied care relationships can Temporarily increased if support is required due to a current crisis or a particularly challenging care relationship. More intensive accompanying density required.
- This means that even in difficult times, foster families can rely on a Appropriate, more intensive support count.
- The case monitoring can also intensify direct contact with the foster child.
4. standard plus (BS)
- A permanent employee has weekly telephone contact with the foster family.
- The foster family will eight times a year visited in person.
- It takes place Regular contact also with the foster child.
- If required, the Family of origin involved in the accompanying process.
- A status meeting is held at least once a year with all those involved.
Accompaniment mode is activated before the Care relationship in the service agreement and, if necessary, adjusted in the course of time in order to ensure appropriate support from the Center for Foster Children.
How does a mediation process work?
- The Center for Foster Children (ZPK) receives a request for a foster child to be placed.
- The request can be made by the Children and Youth Service (KJD) from Basel-Stadt or from other authorities such as the Child and adult protection authority (KESB)social services or a guardian from Basel-Land.
- The request contains information about the child, its family background and the requirements for the potential foster family.