FBiH Government adopts amendments to the Law on Foster Parents

(Patria) - The FBiH Government adopted at today's session in Mostar, at the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the Draft Law on Amendments and Additions to the Law on Foster Parents in the Federation of BiH, which will be sent for further parliamentary procedure.

The proposer states in the explanation that these amendments and additions contain a total of 11 articles, whose provisions aim to improve existing legal solutions and eliminate observed problems in the implementation of this regulation. The amendments and additions relate to the definition and status of foster parents, as well as the conditions for recognizing the status, and the reasons for not recognizing that status.

They also relate to the termination of the status and the initiation of proceedings for recognizing the status of foster parents, as well as the records of persons who have been granted this status.

Among other things, one of the amendments and additions relates to the exhaustive definition of the category of relatives who, in the context of applying this regulation, can acquire the status of a foster parent.

Thus, it is stipulated that a spouse or unmarried partner, child or stepchild, blood relatives, and relatives by marriage can acquire the status of a foster parent. Also, for relatives as foster parents, a common household is defined as a condition for acquiring the status.

In addition, an unmarried union is equated with a marriage, and the proposed amendments also allow parents whose children are in the educational system to acquire the status of foster parents, regardless of the number of hours spent in an educational or preschool institution.

The proposer states in the explanation that additional funds will need to be secured regarding the fiscal effects that the amendments and additions to the Law on Foster Parents will have on the Budget of the Federation of BiH.

It was explained that the reason for this increase is the new, increased amount of the minimum wage for 2025, which has been increased from the previous 619 KM to 1,000 KM, which automatically led to an increase in the financial compensation for foster parents, which is recognized precisely at the level of the mentioned wage.

As a second reason, they state that the proposed amendments and additions will also lead to an increase in the number of beneficiaries of this compensation because the injury as a cause of disability is abolished, which has so far been an exclusive criterion for exercising the right, then spouses are introduced as a new category, and the restriction for children who stay in preschool educational institutions for more than four hours is abolished.

Based on the mentioned amendments and additions, the proposer expects an increase in the existing number of beneficiaries.