Westphalian foster family
In 1976, the state youth welfare office of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association developed the concept of the Westphalian foster family for older children and young people who lived in homes and for whom a manageable counseling and care framework in a family was more beneficial and suitable. Until 1978, two pedagogical employees of the state youth welfare office were looking for suitable foster families for children and adolescents who were living in children's and reform homes through public educational assistance. For younger children with disabilities / special restrictions, for whom classical foster families could not be found due to the special care intensity, the state youth welfare office developed the socio-educational foster families almost at the same time.
Since it was not possible for the State Youth Welfare Office to cover the entire Westphalia-Lippe area, it contacted some free and public youth welfare organizations in 1988 in order to acquire Westphalian foster families in their respective regions. The decision of the State Youth Welfare Committee was implemented and both forms of family care could be expanded further.
In 1992, due to the amendment of the JWG to the KJHG, the State Youth Welfare Office stopped selecting, preparing and advising the WPF and took over the management of the association.
The Westphalian foster families are legally assigned to special care in accordance with Section 33 sentence 2 SGB VIII.
qualification
Westphalian foster families are families, couples or individuals with special qualifications and, in individual cases, educational or medical qualifications who look after a child or young person in their household for a longer period of time. The form of the Westphalian foster family is a family and private educational help offer for children and adolescents who, due to their personality structure, their life perspective and their relationship experiences, need a manageable framework based on closer personal ties.
support
Westphalian foster families are advised independently of the crisis based on the needs of the foster relationship. The WPF system provides different personal advice keys (1:10, 1:15, 1:20) for this purpose. With the help of these classifications, more detailed or more extensive care services can be agreed on as a situation (e.g. short-term crisis interventions) or in the assistance plan discussion.
financing
The Westphalian foster families are financially supported by the public sector through a care allowance. The amount of the monthly payments for recurring needs depends on the age of the young person and the qualifications of the foster parents, because the WPF model distinguishes between foster parents with special qualifications and those with professional qualifications. The public agency that provides advice also receives a so-called agency share for working with the foster family system on site.
Performance standards
The “Westphalian foster families” system is standardized in its processes and steps in a quality manual. This guarantees insight into the offers as well as the quality assurance measures.
statistics
As of December 31, 2019, the association of WPF sponsors comprised a total of 46 independent youth welfare institutions with around 360 advisors. In addition, there is at least one co-advising specialist for each of the facilities who work together with the advisors in special cases.
At the end of 2019, 1,860 children and young people were living in 1,450 foster families in Westphalia. As in the previous year, the number of children and adolescents with a disability placed was around a fifth in 2019.
The LWL state youth welfare committee in Westphalia receives an annual report on the development of the Westphalian foster families.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Report on the development of the Westphalian foster families 2012 Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe