These standards are intended to guide social workers and other service providers in carrying out the tasks of recruiting, assessing, training, matching, supporting, supervising and monitoring when providing foster care services. The primary aim of these Standards is to ensure that the best interests of the child are sought when a child is in need of foster care.
The standards are designed to guide all those responsible for planning and providing foster care services, and for registering and monitoring Foster Care Service Providers in Namibia. The care provided can be measured and assessed against these Standards. These Standards are achievable outcomes for foster families caring for children, and the means to achieve them are detailed herein. The Standards are grouped into six categories, presented in six chapters as set out below.
- Organisational Issues: These are the Standards for setting up and organising the services, including the legal requirements and documentation necessary.
- Management and Staffing: These are the Standards for management arrangements and staff-related issues such as recruitment, training and development of staff, employment practices, and policies and procedures.
- Finance and Fundraising: These are the Standards for financial management and fundraising.
- The Foster Care Service Process: These are the Standards for planning foster care service provision. They cover the issues of transparency and accountability in planning; the process and management of foster care, including the recruitment, assessment, training, matching, support and supervision of foster parents; the complaints procedure; and record-keeping procedures.
- Caring for Children: These are the Standards for the following four areas: admission and decision-making, the care-taking process; leaving care and aftercare support.
- Standards for Foster Parents: These are the Standards by which foster parents must abide in order to provide a safe and loving family environment in which a child can develop to his/her full potential.
