THE PROVINCE OF MISIONES MOVES TOWARDS DEINSTITUTIONALISATION

On April 15, the Misiones province launched its Foster Care Programme during a press conference attended by journalists, legislators, members of the Judiciary, authorities of the province’s Ministry of Social Development, provincial officials, and professionals of the civil society.

In front of a massive turnout, the presentation of the new programme was made by Vice Governor Dr. Oscar Herrera Ahuad, Miguel Molina, National Senator Sandra Giménez, and Matilde Luna, Director of RELAF. In this context, we previously met with Dr. Herrera Ahuad to discuss RELAF's role in improving and supporting alternative care and its prevention in the province. We hope to share results on these developments soon.

On another note, we conducted a training session with the teams of the Child Defense Office and from municipalities of the Province of Misiones. The newly created Child Defense Office operates independently of the provincial government and is developing a special Foster Care programme. The Office is composed of an interdisciplinary team of psychologists and lawyers, among others, and aims at having 8 to 10 foster families available by the end of 2016. This program is a "laboratory" to enhance and improve Foster Care in Misiones province, create standards for the practices, and thereafter nurture local entities with the knowledge necessary for its implementation. From RELAF we support this important initiative, both technically and on spirit.