engleski

How to improve protecton of children's rights to family life? - difficulties in realisation of out of institution care for children with specific risks

Experts in the field of alternative care for children in the Republic of Croatia encounter difficulties in the realisation of children's rights to life in family, especially when it comes to the realisation of foster care and adoption of children with specific characteristics, who, despite the legal requirements being fulfilled, often continue living in the institutional environment. In the first part of the paper there are presented the results of a research regarding the factors which lead to difficulties realising adoption. The data were obtained based on the analysis of documentation of 59 children who had all the legal requirements needed for adoption fulfilled. The second part of the research regards the data collected through the questionnaire of 279 foster parents in the Republic of Croatia. Through the given figures there are analysed the factors which contribute to the different level of readiness of foster parents to foster children with specific characteristics. The obtained results show that difficult realisation of foster care and adopting derives from the specific characteristics of a child and his or her biological family (e.g. higher age of children, developmental issues, multiple risks), from the characteristics of potential foster and adoptive parents (e.g. lack of previous experience with adoption, not knowing other people who have successfully fostered or adopted children with specific difficulties) and from the characteristics of the wider system (insufficient availability of support services in the community). In conclusion, there is emphasised the importance of developing quality and effective system of support to foster and adoptive parents and there are given the guidelines to improve the realisation and the protection of children's rights to life in family.

children's right to family life ; adoption ; foster care ; support system

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