Foster Families Central contributes to child protection on St. Maarten by providing protection, assistance, and equal development to all children by matching them with a foster family that suits their needs.
For many years, the Foundation Judiciary Institute Windward Island has been working with and for the youth, to provide them with the opportunity to grow up in a better environment. The Foster Families Central was established in august 2008 to support these efforts and assist with achieving this goal.
For all the foster children that are on the island of St. Maarten, an attempt will be made to match the foster child with the appropriate foster parent. These families will provide a (temporary) supportive and safe environment for foster children, who unfortunately are not able to live with their biological parents. The foster family provides a home where the child can be given stability; receive affection and consistency, in a nurturing environment for their optimal development. Foster parents are monitored by the Foster Families Central and guided by the Family Guardian from the inception up to when the child is free to go back to their respective home.
For the foster parents to be able to provide all the above mentioned, the Foster Families Central had its first Selectie Training Aspirant Pleegouders (STAP) for all the potential Foster families. With this training the Foster Families Central is doing their utmost best to give the foster parents the tools they need to be able to care for a foster child.
The training took place in the month of October and November 2013, twice a week in the evening.
Topics that were discussed during the training were:
· Foster care system
· Self-image and self-worth
· Abuse
· Neglect
· Communication
· Beliefs and attitudes
· And more
After the training the participants have undergone a psychological assessment (January and February 2014) .
The foster parents will also start participating in the foster care support group where all their day to day experiences can be shared and jointly discuss different solutions.
For more information on how you can become a foster parent and participate in the STAP training, please contact the F.J.I.W.I. or Foster Families Central, Drs. R. Hanze, at telephone number (721) 542-3468 or by emailing us at sjib@sintmaarten.net . You can also visit our websites at www.sjib.net, www.sjib.net/fosterparenting and www.caribbeanfostercare.com.