At the session of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Foster Care in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was considered and adopted, which made a long-awaited step towards improving the system of care for children without parental care.
The law ensures a uniform access to the funding of foster care and an increase in the amount of benefits as well as professional support for each foster family, which represents a significant resource for centers for social work, thereby creating the necessary conditions for the development of sustainable deinstitutionalization. The adoption of this draft law confirms the determination of the institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to improve the legislative framework in accordance with the best interests of the child.
An important shift
This important shift is the result of the joint action of numerous actors, both institutions and individuals, as well as the SOS platform called “Voice of children without parental care”.
Melika Šahinović, manager of advocacy and institutional cooperation of SOS Children’s Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said:
– The adoption of the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Foster Care represents a strong message that children without parental care must remain in the focus of society and that every child should have the right to a family. This step confirms the institutions’ willingness to systemically improve foster care and ensure more stable, high-quality and sustainable forms of support for children and foster families. We especially appreciate openness to dialogue and a partnership approach in which the expert voice is recognized as an important part of the solution. We continue to actively support the procedure until the final adoption of this law and the start of its implementation.
Increase in fees
The Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Foster Care brings significant improvements to the system of care for children without parental care in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– An increase and fairer arrangement of benefits for foster families is planned, and in particular, the establishment of professional services to support all foster families. The goal of these changes is to improve the quality of foster care and ensure a more stable and supportive family environment for children without parental care, but also to ensure sustainable mechanisms for the development of deinstitutionalization and the prevention of placement of children in an institutional form of care – said Šahinović for “Avaz“.
What they emphasized is that the commitment of SOS Children’s Villages remains clear, which is that every child deserves stability, support and the opportunity to grow up in an environment that allows for healthy and happy development.
Final adoption
SOS Children’s Villages in BiH initiated and actively participated in the process of drafting this draft law in cooperation with competent institutions. In the coming period, they say, it is planned to continue support in the implementation of the next steps, primarily the adoption of the Draft Law in the House of Peoples, and then through the organization of public hearings and further activities that will ensure quality solutions and effective implementation of the law after its final adoption.
