In the bustling communities of Malta and Gozo, there is a pressing need for foster families to open their hearts and doors to children facing unimaginable challenges. Every week, the Fostering Service within the Directorate for Alternative Care receives at least three phone calls a week from other services within the Foundation for Social Welfare Services requesting for foster placements for children experiencing trauma, adversity and family crisis. The ages of these children range from newborns to teenagers.
The stories behind these appeals are as varied and diverse as the children themselves. Some children only need a temporary home for a few days due to a severe lack of a social support network; while others need a longer placement living in an environment characterised by a combination of the following problems: neglect, abuse, substance abuse, mental illness and lack of stimulation, care and provision of basic necessities. These children have usually experienced traumas that have left deep scars on their impressionable hearts. Few people can understand what they have been through in their few years of life experience.
Unfortunately, the demand for foster placements far exceeds the approved and available foster carers. Therefore, with a heavy heart, the Fostering Service is not always able to place children in the safe and nurturing home that they need. Approved foster carers who take children into their homes, provide not only a roof over their heads, but also love, stability and a space to heal. These children living with strangers, need consistent, caring, loving and patient carers who are able to provide individualised care and support. Empathy and compassion are skills that that foster carers need to master in order to make a positive contribution.
Through foster care, children are given the prospect of a sense of belonging and security, which is vital to the child’s emotional development. Recognising the great need for support and the impact of trauma on the children, the Fostering Service emphasises the importance of therapeutic parenting. It must first be understood that the brain of a child who has experienced trauma develops differently. Therefore it is important for foster carers to move away from traditional language when it comes to parenting and move towards more trauma-informed language. This will help create compassion instead of blame, hope instead of helplessness, choice instead of control and connection instead of disconnection.
Foster carers are trained to be sensitive to the emotional and psychological needs of the child and to understand that the effects of the trauma may show in their behaviour. Their role is to create a safe, supportive and healing environment for the child to feel protected. Throughout the process, liaising with and seeking the support of the various professionals is essential. . The Fostering Service offers support from a range of professionals in the field such as social workers and counsellors. A 24-hour on-call service is also available to offer guidance and support to our foster carers when needed.
Anyone over the age of 23 with compassion, patience and a willingness to make a difference in the life of a child who has experienced trauma can apply to become a foster carer, regardless of whether they are single, cohabiting or married. The process involves attending a comprehensive seven-week training course that covers various topics such as trauma awareness and therapeutic techniques to dealing with vulnerable children. The training also equips applicants with the knowledge and skills they need to provide the best possible care. This Service is offered in both Malta and Gozo. Individuals interested in becoming foster carers can contact the service by phone on 1778 or send a private message on the Facebook page, Fostering Malta. Light a beacon of hope by fostering a child and sowing the seeds of love, resilience and a brighter future for Malta and Gozo’s most vulnerable children.
Written by the Fostering Service, part of the Directorate for Alternative Care within The Foundation for Social Welfare Services.