Easier Adoption of Children Without Parents Soon in the Federation

Families in the Federation of BiH will soon have the opportunity to professionally foster children who are left without parents for some reason, or to foster elderly persons, for which they would receive financial compensation, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy held a presentation of the Draft Public Policy on Fostering in the Federation of BiH, as an introduction to a series of public discussions on this document, which will form the basis for new legal solutions in this area. These new legal solutions should contribute to almost no child in the Federation of BiH being placed in institutions anymore, but rather in foster families, or for institutions to be only a last resort for children left without parents.

Under this concept, foster families would receive 40 percent of the average salary in the Federation, or about 340 KM, and for each subsequent child they take into their home, the amount would increase by 20 percent. The draft policy stipulates that one family can foster a maximum of three children.

Furthermore, the draft policy envisages many other solutions, which will be discussed until the final adoption of the law.

Vjekoslav Čamber, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Policy, told the Patria agency that this does not mean that unemployed families will be able to take three children from an institution and thus secure monthly income for themselves. On the contrary, he said, financial gain should not be the main motive for foster families to adopt a child, but the Federation of BiH will pay money to ensure that the adopted child has the best possible living conditions and that it is easier for the foster parents in their noble intentions.

This entire process will be monitored by social work centers, and strict and clear legal regulations will prevent any attempt to abuse this possibility.

The reason for initiating such a policy, Čamber said, are scientific facts that state that a child grows up better when in a family, even if it is not their biological one, rather than when a child grows up in an institution.

In 2013, 1,047 children from the FBiH were placed in institutions for children without parents, and as many as 10 percent of them were under three years old. This number has not decreased in 2014 either.

- The problem in the Federation of BiH is the complicated procedure for adopting children without parents. Families who decide to adopt a child need months of running around and a lot of paperwork. Many therefore do not decide or give up on adopting children – said Čamber. He added that the new legal solutions should be much simpler but at the same time more effective than the current ones.

It is assumed that, after the adoption of such a law, almost all children without parents will find their foster families in a short period, writes Patria.