February 13-19 is Foster Care Week

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) will observe the 16th Foster Care Awareness Week from February 13 to 19, under the theme ‘Fostering Love: Every Child Needs a Family’. A slew of activities will be undertaken to mark the occasion and highlight the importance of foster care as an avenue to provide a stable, loving, and caring family environment for every child. Activities get under way on Sunday (February 13), with several church services held across the CPFSA’s regions.

These will be followed by several other events throughout the week geared towards promoting foster care, including community walk-throughs and drive-throughs, meetings with organisations, booth set-ups, and empowerment sessions. Foster Care Awareness Week will be highlighted by an awards ceremony to recognise foster parents for their invaluable contribution to the programme.

Chief Executive Officer of the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage Grey, said that foster care, which is the placement of a ward of the State with an approved family that is not the child’s biological family, is one of the main elements of the Living in Family Environment (LIFE) Programme.

“This programme seeks to provide support for families so children can remain with parents or be placed in enriching family environments when the home environment is not safe,” she pointed out.

Other elements of LIFE are Supervision Order, Family Re-integration, and Adoption.

The CPFSA reports that at the end of December 2021, a total of 1,183 children (545 males and 638 females) were in the Foster Care Programme.

For information on activities for Foster Care Awareness Week, persons can visit the CPFSA’s social media pages @cpfsajm on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtags #FCW2022 #FosteringLove #EveryChildNeedsAFamily.