Welcome to the happy holiday home

KOZHIKODE: Call it a ray of sunshine for kids in registered care institutions across the state. The ambitious Vacation Foster Care project initiated in 2015 is bringing cheer to children in care homes. These kids who are unable to visit their parents/relatives during vacation for various reasons are given a chance to enjoy the love and care of magnanimous families, who take them under their wings. Express examines how this project is transforming children’s lives

For Ramya (name changed ), a high school teacher residing in Ponnani, taking home a six-year-old girl for vacation foster care was just another way of overcoming her monotonous routine.
However, after spending time with the child for a period of two months, Ramya found it distressing to part with the child and requested the Malappuram District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) authorities to extend her period of stay. The girl has now been living with her foster mother for over two years. “I have become quite active and involved with her activities these days,” said Ramya. “I have shifted the girl to a different school near our house and even she seems quite excited living with me and my relatives.”

Ramya’s story is one among that of hundreds of large-hearted parents who have been part of the ambitious ‘Vacation Foster Care’ project that was initiated in the state in 2015 and is being carried out by the DCPUs and Child Welfare Committees (CWCs). The project has been launched with the objective of supporting and nurturing children between the age of six and 18, residing in registered care institutions in the state.

As part of the project, children who are not legally free - implying that at least one of their parents is still alive - and those who are unable to visit their family/kith and kin during the vacation are handed over for foster care to interested families during the two-month summer recess in April and May. 
“These kids do not get the warmth of a family as their parents have either abandoned them or are unable to take them home even during the holidays,” said Thiruvananthapuram District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Subair K K. “Sending them for vacation foster care gives them a chance to know how a family functions, how to adjust to strangers and how to behave while attending a family function. The aim is to give a child maximum non-institutional care,” he said.

Vacation Foster Care was initially implemented on a trial basis in Malappuram and Kollam in 2015, following which it was extended to the other districts the following year.
Since its inception, the project has gained momentum in districts such as Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kottayam, with a considerable number of couples applying for the same with each passing year and a handful of children getting legally adopted. 

Foster care to adoption 
As many as 200 couples from Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kannur had applied in 2016 at the Kozhikode District Child Protection Unit in 2016, of which 36 were selected. In 2017, applications were invited only from Kozhikode. Of the 50-60 applications that turned up, 12 were shortlisted. Over the past two years, around two to three of these children have been legally adopted by their foster families. 
“As per the guidelines of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act of 2015, children are required to stay with their foster parents for at least five years before they can be legally adopted,” said an officer at the DCPU Kozhikode. However, in certain unique cases, the courts have guaranteed the parents the right to legally adopt the child, he said. Meanwhile, several families have also requested extension for the two-month stay period of the child. “We extend the stay period only with the consent of the child, that of the original parents if we know about their whereabouts, and if we find that the couples are able to bring a positive impact on the child,” said the officer.

Applications for this year 
The applications for this year have already started pouring in. According to Kozhikode DCPU authorities, nearly 20 to 30 children residing in four registered orphanages in the district have been identified for the purpose. “We usually receive applications from both childless couples as well as couples with children,” said District Child Protection Officer Joseph Rebello.

Similarly, in Thiruvananthapuram, as many as 73 applications had turned up at the DCPU office in 2017. Of these, 28 applications were shortlisted and eight of these families requested for extension of the stay period. This is in addition to the 35 children who are undergoing regular foster care. Meanwhile, preference is given to couples with children in Kottayam district. “The child is being taken away from his friends and playmates at the care institution. Hence, he or she should not feel bored and lonely at the foster homes. Having kids of almost the same age in the foster homes will give them a cherishable summer vacation,” said Kottayam DCPO Asish Joseph. 

The office had received as many as 60 applications in 2017, of which 21 were selected. According to the authorities, there have also been cases where the families that came forward in 2016 have requested permission for taking home the same foster child even in the second round of Vacation Foster Care in 2017.“These families continue to spend time with their foster child even during festivals, holidays, birthdays and other occasions,” said the DCPO.

Penchant for adoption
However, the outcome of the project has not been so rosy in the other districts in Kerala. The project has so far garnered a lukewarm response in districts such as Ernakulam, Idukki, Kasargod and Kannur with hardly a handful of applications being submitted over the past two years. “The parents here are more interested in adopting children rather than taking them for vacation foster care,” said an officer at the Ernakulam DCPO. “Though we receive several requests for adoption, we have not even received a single application for this project in the past two years,” she added.

As far as siblings residing in care institutions are concerned, the Vacation Foster Care project mandates that they are not to be separated when sent for foster care. Though there have been cases of parents willingly taking home two to three children, more families in the state are yet to consider fostering siblings. “In the previous year, only one child from the district was placed under Vacation Foster Care,” said an officer at the Kasargod DCPU. “Although we had three other eligible children, they were siblings and the families were not interested in taking all the three of them,” he said.

Guidelines for selection
The parents and children for the project are shortlisted on the basis of several guidelines. Once families submit applications for Vacation Foster Care, the DCPU authorities and Child Welfare Committees review the applications and conduct a field study to understand the details of the foster parents, their backgrounds, behaviour and so on. “They should be financially capable of taking care of the child, should have a good attitude and must be cordial.

They should have a proper house and a good societal status,” said the child protection officer at Kozhikode DCPU Subeesh Theyyambady. Once the children are sent to the foster homes, they are constantly monitored by the DCPU and CWC authorities. Nevertheless, not all children who are eligible to be a part of the project are sent to foster homes.

Cases of positive change
Foster parents and District Child Protection Officers in the state believe the project has succeeded in bringing about a positive impact both on the family as well as the foster child. Fathima (name changed), who is currently living with her husband and three children, talks about how her kids have evolved after they took in an eight-year-old boy for foster care. “Initially, my kids were apprehensive about having a stranger living in the house and having to share their books and toys with him. However, within two months they managed to develop a brotherly bond with him,” she said, adding they take the child whenever they go for outings, parties and family functions.

According to Malappuram DCPO Sameer Machingal, the foster children have also learnt to shed off several of their vices after staying with families for two months. “Some of the smaller kids used to have habits such as bed-wetting and stealing items when they were at the care institutions,” he said. “But after the two-month stay, most of them changed their habits. It is quite heart-warming to see them return to the care institutions with gifts, books, new school bags and a set of interesting tales to share with their friends,” he added.

Side of the law 
As per the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act of 2015, the children are required to stay with their foster parents for at least five years before they can be legally adopted.