Foster Care

Dates of sessions running in 2025:

24 January | 7 February | 21 February | 7 March | 21 March | 11 April | 24 April | 9 May | 23 May | 6 June | 27 June | 11 July | 25 July | 12 September | 26 September | 10 October | 24 October | 7 November | 21 November | 12 December | 19 December

Registration for the information session must be made by prior appointment, via the following contacts:

• +351 910 047 370 *
• servico.acolhimentofamiliar@scml.pt

* Cost of a call to the national landline network

Information session registry

Foster care is a placement measure, determined by a Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People or by the Court, applied in situations where it is considered that a child who is in danger cannot remain with their family of origin.

In cases where an alternative to the family must be found, Foster Care is the priority placement measure for a child, lasting until the family develops the conditions to take care of them again or, where that is not feasible, another permanent family setting is identified.

While the Foster Care measure is in place, the child lives with the foster family they are entrusted to, maintaining contact and a close relationship with their family, unless their best interests advise against it.

Being a foster family means temporarily welcoming a child or young person and providing them with all the care they need (physical, emotional, healthcare, educational, sense of belonging) for as long as necessary, until their life project can be put in place (whether that is a return to the family of origin, adoption, or another option).

The following can be a foster family:

• Individuals over 25 years old;

• A single person, married couples or those in a civil partnership for more than two years, or relatives/family members living in the same household;

• Individuals not barred from exercising parental responsibilities;

• People in good physical and mental health, certified by a medical statement;

• People with no criminal record, evidenced;

• People with adequate housing, hygiene and safety conditions.

Relatives and people applying to adopt may be foster families.

Whenever the candidate to be responsible for foster care is also an adoption candidate, a special technical assessment is required in order to safeguard the best interests of the child and young person.

Foster care is intended for all children at risk (0–18 years old).

Children who have suffered or experienced situations that put them at risk and left them unprotected (neglect, emotional and physical abuse, abandonment, exploitation, etc.). A foster placement assumes a previous situation of suffering for the child or young person. That suffering often affects their development and behaviour. It is therefore so important to reaffirm that the security and affection of a foster family have the power to repair the effects of these adverse life stories.

The process involves several mandatory stages:

1. Attending an information session in order to submit a conscious, informed application;

2. Formalising the application;

3. Attending initial training for foster families;

4. Application study: Initial Interview, Psychological Assessment and Home Study; and

5. Decision-making (selection / non-selection).

In strict respect of the principle set out in subparagraph g) of Article 4 of the LPCJP (Law on the Protection of Children and Young People at Risk) and of the best interests of the child and young person, children may remain with the foster family and be adopted by it whenever an adoption measure is determined.

Yes. A child in foster care can be adopted, once the possibility of reintegration into the family of origin has been exhausted, by another family already selected as an adoptive family or by the foster family, in strict respect of the best interests of the child and young person.

Foster care is temporary in nature and lasts as long as needed to deliver the child’s life project — whether family reunification, adoption, civil guardianship or independent living — that ensures a permanent family response. During foster care, those involved – child, foster family, family of origin, adoptive family, civil guardians – receive technical support, preparation and assistance, with a view to a smoother transition.

A foster family benefits from:

• Initial and continuous training;

• Ongoing support from a technical team throughout the placement;

• The possibility of leave and absence from work equivalent to families with children;

• Time off work for activities related to foster care;

• Financial support to ensure the upkeep and care to be provided to the child or young person.

A foster family receives, per fostered child, a monthly financial allowance, created under the social action subsystem and equivalent to 1.2 times the value of the Social Support Index (IAS, updated annually). This amount is increased by 15% for each fostered child where: a) the child(ren) is/are aged up to 6; b) the children or young people have specific issues and needs related to duly evidenced disability and/or chronic illness (under Decree-Law No. 139/2019 of 16 September, Article 30, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3).

During its assessment process, the foster family indicates the profile of child it is motivated to foster. This is a process that requires reflection and growth throughout the study.

The aim is to understand clearly which profile(s) of child the candidate family will, or will not, have the availability and capacity to foster, taking into account the characteristics, issues and needs of the child and/or their family of origin.

Yes. The information available to inform the decision about the child to be fostered is always shared with the foster family. And the final decision on whether the placement goes ahead lies with the family.

Yes. A child in foster care has the right to maintain contact with their family. Contact can take different forms (in-person or remote) and follows a plan defined for each specific situation.

In-person contacts take place at neutral locations, mediated by technical teams.

For reasons of safety and privacy of the foster family, the foster family’s address is not disclosed.

Yes. Whenever the technical teams involved consider that all the conditions are in place, a meeting between the two families can take place.

This meeting happens in most foster care situations and takes place safely and at a neutral venue. The aim is to allow the child’s family to put a face to those caring for their child.

Yes, provided the child’s parents (or the Court, in their place) authorise the travel abroad.

No. Foster families may not resort to physical punishment, such as smacking, pushing, hitting with objects, forcing uncomfortable positions, among others.

The core principles of foster care are to provide an environment of protection, care and affection – the opposite of violence.

All children, by virtue of their unique specificity — relating to their potential, vulnerabilities and dependency — need more protection, not less, against any form of violence; this includes any disciplinary practice that involves physical or psychological abuse.

Resorting to acts of physical punishment is a crime and leads to the termination of the foster placement.

Yes. The eighth amendment to the Law on the Protection of Children and Young People at Risk, approved by Law No. 147/99 of 1 September, guarantees the child’s right to “Maintain contact with the foster family after the termination of the foster care measure, whenever this is in the child’s best interests”.

There are foster families made up of a single adult, large families, couples with and without children, blended families, single-parent families, same-sex families, families with extensive parenting experience and others who never had children but have plenty of love to give.

There are families from different cultural backgrounds and with very different stories, who share the wish to make a difference in the lives of the children they foster.

There are families who foster only at weekends — known as “volunteer families” or “buddy families”. They maintain only an occasional relationship with children in institutional care.

A foster family fosters a child on a daily basis, not just at weekends or during holiday periods. However, through the Foster Care Programme, and in line with practice in other countries, a foster family can act as a support family to another, standing in for them during holiday periods or when respite is needed.

Support families go through the same training, assessment and selection process as any other foster family.