Foster parents in Iceland face difficulties accessing information about children due to municipal system changes

Foster parents in Iceland are facing challenges in accessing information about their foster children through municipal electronic information portals. A foster father has publicly criticized the difficulties in applying for a leisure grant for his child.

Since changes made to the Icelandic national registry’s database regarding child custody in early 2023, foster parents have been unable to retrieve data from public institutions. Critics argue that these changes were not made with the best interests of foster children in mind. Unnsteinn Jóhannsson, a foster father, expressed frustration, stating that the lack of connection through electronic municipal systems complicates the process of obtaining leisure grants designated for children.

Unnsteinn has pointed out that municipalities operate independently without a clear procedure in place, leaving foster parents to resolve these issues without support from public agencies. He questioned whether any government department is taking responsibility for the situation, remarking that foster parents end up doing double the work in these circumstances.

In response to these challenges, Guðbjörg Gréta Steinsdóttir, a team leader at the Child and Family Agency, mentioned that work is underway for a short-term solution to ensure foster parents have access to information about their children. Unfortunately, foster parents still struggle to easily access electronic information resources and must engage with individual institutions and municipalities to find necessary information. Guðbjörg emphasized that the Child and Family Agency is primarily focused on supporting foster parents and relaying their concerns to relevant authorities.