Chair says up to 100 children lack oversight in emergency placements

Between 50 and 100 children may be in emergency placements without adequate state oversight, Guðlaugur Kristmundsson, chairman of the Association of Foster Parents, told mbl.is. He said some placements intended to last no more than three months have continued for years, with one child reportedly remaining in such an arrangement for eight years.

Speaking on the Dagmál programme, Guðlaugur criticised a report by the Welfare Quality and Oversight Authority on supervision of foster homes. He said the review followed the Bakkakot case and public debate over whether oversight had failed children in foster care.

Emergency placement is a temporary measure used when a child must be removed from home at short notice, for example because of danger or a parent’s illness. Guðlaugur said municipalities arrange these placements, but may not notify the state or the authority, leaving them without a clear overview of where children are or how long they have been placed.

“Today, no one is keeping track of these children,” he said. The child and family agency may not know about some placements if a municipality has not reported them, he added.

Guðlaugur said emergency placements are often with relatives, who need guidance and support. A relative caring for a sibling’s child must build a parent-child relationship while also setting boundaries with the child’s birth parent. The child, in turn, needs support to maintain that relationship.

He said the association had urged municipal officials to find out which children are placed in care, the basis for each placement and how long it has lasted.