Foster families first in line for kid adoptions

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The government wants to strengthen foster family system, says Şahin. AA Photo

Families that are waiting their turn to adopt children have been urged to become foster families, the Family and Social Policies Ministry said Dec. 21, noting that such families would be prioritized in the adoption process.

Speaking at a meeting with 200 families who have applied to adopt children, Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin promoted the foster family service, adding that her ministry was working with the Justice Ministry in order to ease legal difficulties.

The new foster family regulation, which was enacted last week, provides training and consultancy services and increased financial assistance for families by 45 percent.

“We want to strengthen the foster family system, which is based on a volunteer system,” Şahin said, noting that they also solidified the system financially to comply with the requirements of being a social state.

For example, if they request, one of the foster parents will be offered social security, Şahin said.
“This is one of the most radical changes. Having the mother in the social security system, granting the right to retirement and our support for making these things happen as a state reflects our view of the issue,” she said.

Speaking at the same meeting, Hatice and Yavuz Ataç, who had been waiting for adoption for six years, said they were happy to have decided to become a foster family six months ago.

“We got in the system upon an offer by Minister Şahin, and when we first met our child, I could not stop crying,” said Yavuz Ataç, calling on other families to become foster parents.