Foster families with a key role

Eurochild Portuguese member Vânia Pinto advocated for family based and foster care on national TV.

The interview has been broadcasted on TV channel RTP (Rádio e Televisão de Portugal) Madeira on 20 July 2023.

During the news programme Vania talked about the importance of foster care in Portugal, a type of alternative care that is extremely under developed in a country that relies heavily on institutional type / residential type settings.

In this interview, Vânia identified some elements of the Portuguese culture that are linked to characteristics of good foster carers, such as being affectionate and accepting and including others within their own family and social networks. She also mentioned key points that potential foster carers need to be aware of, such as the importance of collaborating with children’s services, and, accordingly, with social workers, but also with the birth families of children.

Vânia is a researcher at the University of Oxford and Leeds Trinity University, who investigates and provides training on foster care and took part in the DataCare project which carried out a comprehensive mapping of child protection data systems across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) and the UK.

In Portugal, Eurochild worked closely with National Correspondents Vânia S. Pinto, Sérgio Araujo, and Véronique Lerch to inform the drafting of Portugal’s Child Guarantee National Action Plan.

Watch the interview (in PT): Famílias de acolhimento com papel fundamental

Read more:

DataCare National Correspondents explain how statistical data can help inform deinstitutionalisation reform: Lessons from PortugalBetter Data for Better Child Protection Systems in EuropeNew legal framework aims to boost foster care development in Portugal

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