Muscat – Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) has officially launched ‘National Guide for the Care of Children in Foster Families’, a comprehensive resource designed to support foster families, social and psychological specialists, and institutions dedicated to child and family welfare. The guide aims to enhance the care and support provided to children who lack family care and are often placed in foster homes or care institutions.

The guide targets several key groups, including foster families, foster mothers and aunts at child care centres and youth hostels under MoSD, social and psychological specialists working in the field of alternative care, and institutions involved in child and family welfare. The guide seeks to build professional capacities for specialists engaged in social supervision to help them provide the necessary support to foster families. It also sets unified standards and guidelines for dealing with foster children, ensuring high-quality care and the optimal treatment of these children.

The guide offers a practical reference for social and psychological specialists, improving their ability to supervise and support foster families effectively. Additionally, it addresses the behaviour of foster children, providing scientific and psychological solutions to help families manage these issues. Furthermore, the guide enables foster families to understand their rights and responsibilities, offering practical solutions to the challenges they may encounter while caring for children without families.

The guide includes a range of valuable resources, such as information on the alternative care system in Oman, techniques and standards for interviewing families applying for adoption or fostering, stages of emotional development for children without families, and the impact of psychological trauma on these children.

A key focus of the guide is to protect the rights of children without families and ensure their best interests are always prioritised. The guide provides a structured and supportive framework aimed at improving the quality of care foster children receive. It also seeks to empower foster families, helping them to perform their roles effectively and strengthen the social protection system by linking foster families with specialists and support services.