Foster families

Small lives seek big hearts and we need new foster families in Sønderborg municipality.

As a foster family, you can make a difference for a child who is having a hard time and can no longer live at home. Many foster families and foster children get a relationship for life because the effort becomes a positive turning point in the child's development and well-being.

Term foster family, covers 3 ways to be a foster family:

• Day care, where the child lives with you and is part of your normal everyday life
• Support families (formerly respite families), where you give the child and the parents a breather in e.g. weekends and holidays
• Network where you become a foster family for a child in your private network. Placement must be granted via the municipality.

Are there any considerations we need to make before applying to become a foster family?

Before you apply to become a foster family, it is important that you think about the following: 

• the efforts of the foster child are a common task for the whole family
• own children's reactions
• What competencies and qualifications do you have for a possible care task?
• the collaboration with the municipality - to become a 'public' family
• the collaboration with the foster child's biological family
• the economic conditions

What requirements are there for us if we want to be a foster family?

It is very different what the care task for the individual child entails. Foster children, like all other children, need presence, care and a daily life just like everyone else. In addition, some foster children may have difficulties that require a course of treatment. As a foster family, you must also support the child's contact and contact with his / her biological family.

To be a foster family, you must have an approval. You can either be generally approved or network approved. The general approval is handled by Social supervision South, while the network approval is carried out by the family care consultants. In addition, you must participate in three courses:

• Basic course
  The basic course must be completed before you can receive a child. If you are two foster parents, you must both attend the course. Here you get insight into the care and upbringing of the child, the relationship in your own and the foster child's family and the collaboration with the professionals around the child. It is Social Supervision South in Ringe, which stands for the basic course.
• Continuing education
  As a foster family, you must participate in two annual training days. Foster families receive invitations to continuing education days directly from the family care consultants.
• Supervision
  Supervision is an educational process that basically takes place at your home or alternatively at the family care consultant. For foster families, supervision takes place approximately every 4 months or as needed, while for support families it is 1-2 times a year or as needed. In addition to supervision, you can also receive advice and guidance as well as actual training based on your specific needs.
  You can also voluntarily participate in group supervision, where you typically meet once a month together with the responsible family care consultant and a family therapist from Family Interventions. 

As a foster and support family, you have a duty of confidentiality with everything you learn about the foster child's situation. The child's school/institution, doctor and authorities must of course have the necessary information to support the child. The duty of confidentiality does not end even if the care relationship ends.

How are foster children and foster families matched?

Finding the right match between foster child and foster family is a complex task that requires thoroughness. That is why in Sønderborg Municipality we have a family care team whose primary task is to work with just the right match. In a match process, we will contact you and arrange a visit for a deeper conversation about the task, content and scope.

Do you get paid as a foster family?

As a foster family, one of you will be employed on a contract basis. The contract is your employment certificate.

The salary is paid to the person on the contract. Salary for foster families is called remuneration and is a taxable income.

24-hour care families are remunerated according to the average model and support families according to remuneration. 

See the remuneration model here

Do you get your expenses covered in connection with the work as a foster family?

In addition to the remuneration, you will be paid a tax-free amount, which will cover the expenses for board and lodging as well as the normal daily expenses associated with the foster child's stay with you.
If you are a full-time foster family, you must make the room, bed and storage available to the child. If the child needs special equipment, you can apply to have the expense covered by the child's social worker.

If you are a supporting family, a bed is required for the child, in addition the biological parents/guardian must provide the necessary items - e.g. nappies and clothes.