Foster care – it sounds very official; “professionals with heart” brings much better associations. That is also the name of a social media page devoted to the activities and tasks carried out by a special team at the Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie in Świdnica.
There are 160 foster families in Świdnica, including 11 professional foster families. Foster parents care for 250 children. For years, the Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie has been strongly involved in promoting this form of parenthood. It implements many programs encouraging adults to create a normal, safe home for children so that in the future they have a better chance of proper development, growing up and becoming independent. Potential candidates need to be interested in the matter, equipped with all the necessary knowledge, and then continue to receive support as new families. One such initiative is the Akademia Rozwoju project, which cost PLN 1.5 million, including PLN 1.2 million in EU funding.
Where did the idea for Akademia Rozwoju come from?
“The idea arose from needs reported by our foster families themselves,” explains Beata Galewska, director of the Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie in Świdnica.
The academy was intended to help develop foster parents’ skills and create development support for the children themselves. Support groups, supervision sessions, and assistance from a psychologist and physiotherapist were organized, along with courses and training for families and vocational courses for young people.
Tangible benefits
The name “academy” carries an obligation – 347 program participants studied there. Adults acquired pedagogical and psychological knowledge. Tutoring was also organized and benefited many students, because children entering foster families often have not only emotional and health problems, but also educational delays.
“I am proud that I managed to improve in several subjects, including foreign languages, which increases my chances of getting into university,” says one of the teenage program participants. She adds that the support groups were very valuable to her. They were an opportunity to talk about her future or simply vent.
“Akademia is a very good idea. Children entering foster families are also very often neglected in terms of their health,” says Monika Kot, who cares for three children and has been a professional foster parent for a year. “Thanks to this program, my children had access to the best specialists: a speech therapist and a physiotherapist. They took part in manual therapy and biofeedback. There were many such sessions, and the results were visible from week to week.”
Vocational guidance was another equally important element of the program. When you are a teenager, choosing a profession is difficult, so every suggestion and every piece of advice from a specialist is extremely valuable. A psychologist or counselor can help determine vocational aptitudes. This knowledge not only helps one choose a school or profession, but often shapes one’s entire adult life.
Together it is easier
The Akademia Rozwoju project was implemented over three years. Meetings, consultations, courses and conversations led to foster families getting to know one another better and becoming more integrated. Direct contact makes it easier to solve everyday problems. It encourages participation in picnics, races and drawing competitions such as “My Different but Extraordinary Family.” Thanks to such initiatives by the Powiatowe Centrum Pomocy Rodzinie in Świdnica, it is clear that it is worthwhile to devise and implement assistance programs, because in the children’s drawings, this different family is happy.
Informational material from the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.