Minister Göktaş announces: Here is the number of children in foster care

Minister Göktaş issued a written statement evaluating the current status of the foster care system, which is implemented as part of family-oriented service models.

Reminding that the foster care service model is a family-oriented approach aimed at raising children who cannot be cared for by their biological families for various reasons in a family environment, Göktaş noted that the Ministry contributes to the development of children in safe and supportive family environments.

Stating that the foster care service model is a source of hope for children who cannot be cared for by their biological families, Göktaş said, "Our foster families not only provide our children with a home but also nurture their dreams and hopes. While 515 children were being cared for by 500 families under our foster care service model in 2002, today the number of children in the care of our 8,140 foster families has reached 10,084."

CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT IS MONITORED

Göktaş stated that, in line with their social service philosophy, they strive to create the same conditions for all children, and that after children are placed in foster care, they monitor them by visiting them every month during the first year and every three months from the second year onwards.

Stating that they also support families economically to meet the children's needs, Minister Göktaş noted the following:

"We provide foster families with an average monthly support of 8,895 Turkish Liras, including insurance payments. We also provide care support to foster families caring for children with disabilities due to their condition. Thus, the responsibility of raising children is shared between the state and foster families. We continue our efforts to increase the quality of our foster care service model.

In this context, we held our second Child Protection-Based Foster Care Workshop in January. We have begun to implement the outputs obtained from this workshop. Through thematic meetings in many of our provinces, we are strengthening our services for all our children, especially those in adolescence and those of foreign nationality who benefit from foster care services."

Stating that the foster care service model is also being taken as an example in Azerbaijan and that efforts are underway to adapt it to the country, Göktaş provided information that experts working in the field are assisting in the establishment of foster care services in Azerbaijan.