HUNGARY
SOS Children’s Villages Hungary believes that
cultural, religious and linguistic identity is
important for children, so during recruitment
it prioritises the selection of foster parents with
similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds to
the children. Besides the foster care program
(but based on the same group of applicants) in
June 2017, the organisation launched a mentor-
ship programme which enabled 12 volunteers
to support families and children with refugee
status in their everyday lives and to promote
their inclusion and integration.
Foster parent candidates undergo two inter-
views and a psychological test. The selected can-
didates receive the same compulsory training
as foster parents caring for Hungarian children,
which is complemented by cultural sensitivity
training and specialised training on the needs of
unaccompanied and separated children.
During the training, the candidates receive
information on their tasks and responsibilities
and are given the opportunity to carefully con-
sider their decisions to become foster parents.
Foster families receive monthly counselling,
psychological support and advice from SOS
Children’s Villages family counsellors. To make
such support possible, the foster parents need
to reside within a close distance of the SOS
Children’s Villages facilities.
To ensure the best interests of unaccompa-
nied and separated children, SOS Children’s
Villages works in close cooperation with other
stakeholders such as the Hungarian Helsinki
Committee, legal guardians in the state child
protection system, the UNHCR and the Károlyi
István Children’s Centre. A joint working group
to address individual cases of unaccompanied
children has been established and holds month-
ly meetings.
I am so worried about my mother and my siblings. My
mom and two of my cousins are ill, so I should send them
money – but I can’t have a job here as a child – due to
the regulation. So I am worried about this situation; I cry
for them a lot. Anyway, I have just found out that I could
earn some money if I worked as an extra in movies, so
I’ll try to manage this. I have to talk to my legal guardian
about it as I need his permission to do it. It would be
great if I could send some money to my family.
12-year-old unaccompanied child from Afghanistan
The role of the biological family is considered
crucial, so the staff facilitate communication be-
tween children and their biological families and
involve biological families in decision making.
By October 2017, four candidates had been
selected and certified by SOS Children’s Villages
Hungary and had completed their official foster
parent training. Those new foster parents will
be registered to allow for swift placement of
those children identified by Hungarian child
protection authorities. Each foster parent
can care for one or two unaccompanied and
separated children. Placement in foster families
is carried out by child protection authorities
based on a needs assessment, an individual care
plan developed by a multidisciplinary team and
an interview with the child. Foster parents un-
dergo vetting and screening procedures and are
subject to the national child protection moni-
toring system and periodic reviews conducted
by child protection authorities throughout the
placement.
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