Foster parents’ chair warns children could be sent to institutions

The chair of the Association of Foster Parents has criticised recommendations that municipalities stop placing children in emergencies with relatives who lack foster-care permits, saying children could instead end up in institutions or with people they do not know. The comments were reported by mbl.is.

Guðlaugur Kristmundsson said the Quality and Supervision Authority of Welfare’s recommendations did not reflect the needs of children who suddenly require care. He was speaking on mbl.is’s Dagmál programme earlier this week.

A report from the authority urges municipalities to stop placing children in emergencies with people who are not licensed to foster. Guðlaugur said it was positive to address licensing, but decisions made in a hurry to find a safe place for a child also had to take account of the circumstances.

When a parent becomes suddenly ill or dies, he said, the first option has often been to place the child with close relatives. He said it was difficult to understand the recommendations as allowing such arrangements, even with close family members, since they were unlikely to have a foster-care permit ready in advance.

“If my siblings suddenly became ill, where would it be best for their children to be placed in an emergency? With their grandparents or their parents’ siblings, someone they know,” he said.

Guðlaugur said the recommendations appeared to require municipalities to find ways to place children whose parent may be ill or has died in institutions or with people who hold the required permits.

He said the authority was supposed to safeguard children’s welfare, but the recommendations could mean extended families had to identify in advance someone willing and able to take in a child. That was not always feasible, he said, adding that children should be able to stay with people they know when their parents cannot care for them.

“I feel they are completely losing the room and their credibility in trying to take the lead on this issue,” Guðlaugur said.