Tuesday 07 / January / 2025
Muscat: The Ministry of Social Development has introduced the "National Guide for Child Care in Foster Families," aimed at supporting foster families, social and psychological specialists working in alternative care, substitute mothers and aunts at the Child Care Centre and Youth Homes under the Ministry, and organisations concerned with child and family welfare.
The guide seeks to achieve multiple objectives, including enhancing the professional skills of social supervision specialists to provide effective support to foster families, establishing unified standards to ensure consistent care for foster children, and serving as a practical reference for specialists to improve the quality of supervision and support. It also aims to help families address foster children's behavioural challenges based on scientific principles, while empowering them to understand their rights and responsibilities and find practical solutions to common issues.
The guide features various resources, including information on the alternative care system in Oman, techniques for interviewing prospective foster families, the emotional development stages of children without family care, and the psychological effects of trauma on such children.
Its importance lies in safeguarding the rights of children without family care, promoting their best interests, and ensuring their entitlements as outlined by the Child Law, its Executive Regulation No. 125/2019, and other relevant legislation.
Additionally, the guide seeks to improve the skills of foster parents and specialists, enhance the quality of foster care, and establish a comprehensive social protection system linking foster families and specialists to ensure integrated support.
