QuestionsQuestions (CSC ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 5, S. 2000)
Foster care is the provision of substitute parental care by a licensed foster family to a child or children when the biological (birth) parents are unable to provide adequate care temporarily or permanently. It is a planned child welfare service provided by single parents, couples, or families for these children on a temporary, short-term basis.
Foster care is temporary and short-term, while adoption grants permanent custody of the child to the adoptive parents through a legal process.
Those in need of foster care include: (1) children whose adoption has been approved and are awaiting departure abroad; (2) children whose parents are in crisis or face family problems such as illness, extreme poverty, lack of parenting preparation, and other issues aggravated by lack of family support; (3) children of single parents not yet ready for parental responsibilities; and (4) children abandoned in hospitals or public places.
It answers NO. Foster care is child-focused and recognizes the child’s need for a family. When the birth family cannot provide care for reasons such as health, death, separation, or other problems, the alternative is an alternative family rather than institutional care.
Usually three months (100 days) or more.
Minimum requirements include: (a) civil status—single or married; (b) income level—financially stable and able to provide for the child’s needs; (c) physically and mentally fit; (d) demonstrated parental capability; (e) willingness to undergo orientation/assessment and training on foster parenting; and (f) readiness to submit requirements and recommendations from the heads of their office/agency or respected community members.
They act as surrogate parents under the supervision of a child welfare agency, providing full-time day-to-day care; provide a nurturing environment for the child’s physical, social, mental, and emotional needs; maintain a safe, sanitary, and healthy environment; attend to the child’s immediate needs and problems; coordinate and cooperate with the agency’s social workers; and abide by agency foster care policies and procedures.
Child welfare agencies must provide legal protection and security to both the foster family and foster child, and provide periodic supervision through visits, meetings, and related activities.
The foster family provides substitute parental care under the supervision of a child welfare agency. The agency also conducts periodic supervision through visits and meetings.
Examples include problems in family relationships, illness, extreme poverty, lack of parenting preparations, and other issues aggravated by lack of family support.
Applicants may inquire from and apply in any accessible child welfare agency whose needs match their capabilities, including those listed as partner agencies for the Spirit of 100 Days program.
It is a minimum requirement: prospective foster parents must be willing to undergo orientation/assessment and training on foster parenting before being considered for the role.
Children of single parents who are not yet ready to assume parental responsibilities may be placed under foster care.
Example: Kaisahang Buhay Foundation (KBF), 58 10th Ave Cubao Q.C.—covers NCR and Region III (Angeles, Pampanga) and Cebu; it serves age range 0–9 years, including orphans and abandoned children.
Because foster care is designed to give the child a family setting when the birth family cannot provide care for legitimate reasons. The text frames foster care as family-based child welfare, not anti-family.