Deinstitutionalisation of foster care in Poland. Experiences of selected foster care organisers in the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship

Placing a child in foster care is a last resort and should take place after all possible forms of support and assistance have been exhausted. However, if a child is placed under the care and upbringing of foster care, it is necessary to create conditions as close as possible to those of a family. Since 2000, the Polish foster care system has been subject to the process of deinstitutionalisation. The organisers of foster care were obliged to take actions aimed at reducing the importance of the foster care system in the full childcare system, a smooth transition to a system where full community-level childcare is provided. The aim of the article is to present the foster care system and directions of changes in foster care in quantitative terms and to evaluate the organisation of foster care in the context of the process of its deinstitutionalisation. The conclusions were based on statistical data analysis on the foster care system, which constituted the background for discussions by organisers of foster care in selected poviats of the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship. The system of foster care in Poland is based on family foster care. Reducing the number of institutional foster care facilities is possible, but in the current system, it is only likely to partially eliminate them. The most significant identified challenge of the foster care system is the dropping number of foster families. Additionally, the deinstitutionalisation of foster care requires, above all, measures to increase the effectiveness of the support system and upbringing of the child and natural family in the local environment.