site.btaDiscussion in Blagoevgrad Highlights Need for More Foster Families

A discussion under the initiative "Foster Me" on Monday brought together representatives of various institutions, clergy and foster parents at the BTA press club in Blagoevgrad. The national joint initiative of BTA and the Social Assistance Agency (SAA) aims to promote foster care, and the discussion in Blagoevgrad touched on various aspects of the topic.

Deputy Regional Governor of Blagoevgrad Radoslav Dinev said that more people should become involved in caring for children at risk through foster parenting. 

There are currently 31 foster families operating in Blagoevgrad Region, with 28 children placed with them, said the Director of the local Social Assistance Directorate, Alexander Balev. According to him, foster care makes it possible for children to be raised in an environment close to a family setting, which is key to their development. Balev believes that public support and awareness are crucial to attracting new foster parents.

According to Mila Sokolova, Director of the Social and Housing Policy Directorate in Blagoevgrad Municipality, every child has an individual destiny, needs and talents and should receive comprehensive support from society.

Children who have grown up in foster care or social services must be regarded as equal to all the rest and be given the same opportunities for development, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yuliana Kovachka, Head of the Department of Social Pedagogy and Theory and Methodology of Physical Education at the South-West University Neofit Rilski. She said that at the university these young people are accepted equally with other students and they themselves choose whether to share their experience related to foster care or social services.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vyara Tsvetanova of the South-West University Neofit Rilski, foster care in Bulgaria remains little known among the public and requires more active promotion. She said there is not enough information in society about foster care, while negative examples more often find their way into the public space.

Emilia Dafkova, Head of the Orthodox Information Centre in Blagoevgrad, said that love and care for others come first among Christian values. She said that children in such a situation find themselves there not by choice but by compulsion, and when they receive support and care, it makes a significant difference to their development.

Responsibility and self-sacrifice are needed in order to have more foster families, said Father Andon Shavulev. He emphasized that spiritual values and personal example play a key role in encouraging society to support children deprived of parental care.

At the start of the discussion, a specially recorded video was shown with the story of foster parent Julieta Georgieva, who has been caring for a boy for 16 years after he came to her home at the age of two and a half.

The national joint initiative of BTA and SAA, "Foster Me", was launched at the National Press Club of BTA in Sofia. A discussion was held at the end of April in Svishtov. The initiative will include 33 meetings in all BTA press clubs across the country.

"Foster Me" is part of the project "Strengthening the capacity of Social Assistance Agency staff in relation to the modernization of social protection systems" – Component 1, aimed at the development of foster care in Bulgaria and strengthening the capacity of those involved in it: social workers, municipal employees, foster parents and others. The project is funded under the Human Resources Development Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus.