Widespread interest in foster care congress
“We never expected over 600 participants”, says organizer Chris Degheldere. In fact, foster care is one of the fastest growing sectors in welfare care in Flanders, and both the Government of Flanders and the Belgian Federal Government are devoting a lot of attention to it. The aim of the congress is to learn from another and to accelerate the momentum in the area of foster care.
The congress on foster care opens on 16 September and has attracted widespread interest with over 600 participants expected to attend. “We are certainly very happy with the turnout”, explains organizer and coordinator of Pleegzorg Vlaanderen Chris Degheldere. “This shows that there is a great deal of interest in foster care among policymakers and society at large. There is clearly a more dynamic climate for foster care than, say, 20 years ago.”
This momentum is also apparent from the strong growth experienced by the foster care sector in Flanders . “The sector has been growing by an average of 5% a year”, says Degheldere. “The demand for solutions for children without homes continues to rise. The same applies for adults who are unable to live independently owing to a disability, for example. This means that it is getting difficult to find enough foster parents and host families for all of these children and adults.”
The aim of the congress is to learn from one another, beyond our borders as well. “We are very pleased to be able to take part in the EU-presidency through this congress. Fifty foreign participants have registered and there will also be speakers from France, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Sweden”, continues Degheldere.
Degheldere is already very happy with the tremendous interest in the congress, but she will only be completely satisfied if the congress is able to speed up the policymaking process in Flanders. “There are a lot of challenges that we still need to find solutions for. For example, there is an urgent need for a new legal status for foster parents and we need to consider a system of compensation in the form of a salary. Can foster care potentially also offer a solution for caring for the elderly, and how can we find more young people who are willing to become foster parents? These are all questions that we hope to be able to answer at the congress.”
