Community Guidelines: Vision for child welfare – a framework of community engagement and support

Muslim Foster Care Association

Guidelines Regarding Fostering

Foster care is still a foreign concept within the Muslim community, although it is recognized and encouraged within our Islamic traditions. Our communities do not offer the needed resources to support Muslim foster children and foster families. Muslim Foster Care Association (MFCA) specifically addresses the needs of Muslim foster children and Muslim foster families. MFCA was founded by Muslim foster parents and gives the organization the unique perspective and experience of foster parents.

Muslim Foster Care Association (MFCA) seeks to raise awareness through educational panels that feature foster care parents, attorneys, local imams, and representatives of foster care agencies. (MFCA) holds orientations in mosques, initiates a training program to become foster parents, and finally forms groups to support those few families who decided to take in a foster child. The last stage comprises those who are licensed, but are still reluctant to actually move forward.

Goals:

  • Raise awareness and Increase Number of Licensed Muslim foster Homes
  • Support Licensed Foster Families
  • Support Muslim Foster Children
  • Educate foster care agencies on the unique needs of Muslim children in the foster care system
  • Collaborate with other social organizations on shared goals

Requirements for Licensing:

  • Background check, home assessment, interviews, ongoing training, review of household income and expenses
  • Requirements for refugee foster care have a few additional items, and is only available in a limited number of cities

Fostering Obstacles and Challenges:

  • Change in family dynamics
  • Consideration of birth children’s social adjustment
  • Time commitment
  • Additional support needed for foster children such as behavioral therapy, academic tutoring
  • Domestic foster children require regular visits with birth parents and siblings
  • Refugee foster children are often learning a new language and culture
  • Missed schooling
  • Acknowledgment of previous physical and psychological trauma and Importance of mental health attention
  • Importance of support groups with other foster parents
  • Addressing the lack of support from the community
  • Overcoming misinformed stereotypes of foster children

Useful Information:

What is Foster Care?

Foster care is a process in which state governments and agencies license parents to care for children in need of a temporary home. Some children are often taken into the foster care system because of abuse or neglect by their birthparents; some enter because of an illness or the death of their parent. Some orphaned refugee children come to the USA as unaccompanied minors and are placed in foster care.

The goal of foster care is to protect and care for children by providing a safe, stable and nurturing environment while addressing the issues in their birth families that resulted in the child’s entering foster care. Biological parents go through counseling, drug testing, and take classes so that they might be able to properly care for their children again. The children can eventually return home.

There are an estimated more than four hundred thousand children in the foster care system in the United States ranging in age from newborn infants to older teens. Foster parents may care for a child for a short period, perhaps only overnight, or they may care for them for years. While the system varies from state to state, temporary or permanent custody of the child is held by the state or a private agency. Foster parents are responsible for the day-to-day care of the children but social workers and the courts make major decisions, sometimes with input from birthparents.

All states have some system of reimbursement to help foster parents cover costs (depending on the difficulties of care and the age of a particular child) per month, medical coupons, clothing vouchers and counseling. The process of becoming a foster parent may also vary from state to state, but much of it is similar. Foster parents typically need to pass background checks, have their home inspected for safety and space considerations, be interviewed and attend training programs.

When children come into the foster care system, there is a preference to place them in a home they will feel comfortable in. Being in a foster home can be very scary for children and placing them into a somewhat familiar home where their caretakers speak the same languages as them, share the same culture, and/or share the same religion may make the transition easier. There are very few licensed Muslim foster homes currently. This means that when Muslim children come into the “system,” state child placement agencies are often unable to place these children in Muslim homes. If you are Muslim, please consider becoming licensed to foster so that Muslim children who come into the foster care system might have an option of being placed in a Muslim home.

What is the difference between Refugee and Domestic Foster Care?

Domestic foster care and refugee foster care are not the same thing. Children born in the U.S. that are removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect are placed by Social Services in foster families. There are different levels of commitment in foster care. Refugee foster care is designed for teenagers, primarily unaccompanied young men, and the ultimate goal is reunification with the parents. Once they age out of the system they are, ideally, ready for independent living. But many times this is unrealistic due to many years of missed schooling and lack many parts of a normal childhood that would have prepared them to function as adults. They often cannot be adopted because parental rights were never terminated. Many have suffered from war-related traumas and thus have various “issues.” People can help by providing tutoring, mentorship and transportation. Agencies do not track Muslim children once they enter the system.

To learn about the process and how to become a foster parent visit the following links:

Muslim Foster Care Association (MFCA)

https://www.muslimfostercare.org/ 

http://www.newstarkafala.org/how-you-can-help/

What can I do besides Foster Care to help?

You can sign up to be an interim or respite foster family to provide short term relief and support to the long term placement families. Big Sister/Brother, positively impact a child by being a mentor. For a few hours, a couple of times a month, you can give the invaluable gift of your friendship. It’s as simple as playing basketball games, going to a masjid, cooking a meal together, or just hanging out. This is especially important for Muslim children placed in non-Muslim foster homes. The mentoring and community participation may be the only time for them to connect with their faith, and practice their belief system with someone who shares it.

Child Welfare/Foster Care Statistics

The number of children and youth in the foster care system. Some states allow children to remain in the foster care system until their 18th birthday while other states have age limits that extend a few years beyond this. The current indicator includes children of all ages. Youth are categorized as being in foster care if they entered prior to the end of the current fiscal year and have not been discharged from their latest foster care spell by the end of the current fiscal year. National estimates include Puerto Rico.

Data Source: Child Trends analysis of data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), made available through the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect.