Developing foster care experiences

As we announced in our previous newsletters, the current technical cooperation RELAF and UNICEF Mexico are developing together continues to develop. We held meetings with the Strategic Bureau of Experts in Mexico City as part of the strategy promoted for the implementation of the Law on Alternative Care of Mexico City. Firm steps are being taken in the development of a pilot foster care programme.

We also met with the Federal Attorney’s Office for the Protection of Children to discuss the foster care programme at a federal level and in general, as well as collaborative actions and exchanges of good practices with its operators.
It’s worth highlighting the visit to the Casa Cuna Coyacán, a full time residential care facility, where 46 young children live, with the aid of a 169-person staff.

On another note, the videoconference "Keys to deinstitutionalisation and to the development of foster care programmes for children and adolescents deprived of parental care" was led by RELAF on the early morning of May 4, with the participation of Federal Attorney’s Offices from the 32 Mexican states, as well as with the virtual presence of staff from local DIF agencies (National System for Integral Family Development).

A lot of experiences were shared by professionals, operators and managers of the entities. We share a common concern when it comes to carefully implementing programmes in response to a recent legal framework that requires this adaptation.

The principles and steps needed to establish a foster care programme were discussed within the framework of the adaptation of the subsystems that aim to protect the rights of children and adolescents deprived of parental care, also moving towards a policy of gradual deinstitutionalization. We also shared successful experiences in other countries of the region.

RELAF is participating in the organization and delivery of a series of annual training sessions together with our strategic partner, Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), and Maestral International aimed at the DIF Tabasco, which is planning the implementation of a foster care programme. Within this framework, on the week of May 23, Sonia Barrientos (Costa Rica) and Carolina Bascuñán (Chile, currently residing in Brazil) led the way in several training sessions of the second workshop, representing RELAF.