– I think it has gone very well, but the miss for them is there anyway, says Ann Kristin Ludvigsen Pettersen from Stange. Her children have lived away from her for six years. But not against her will. When she became pregnant with her eldest child, she felt insecure as a mother. She contacted child protection for advice and guidance. She suffered a lot mentally, and saw for herself that she was unable to give the children what they needed. Then she herself suggested that she wanted the children to go to a foster home. – I chose to put them first so they would feel good, says Pettersen. DRAWING: The children of Ann Kristin Ludvigsen Pettersen have made drawings for her. Photo: Frode Meskau / news But they have not been sent to another place in the country. They were sent to her own mother, who lives a short distance away. – I can travel to visit them whenever I want, I can take them to things I want, says Pettersen. She says that if the children had been sent elsewhere in the country, she would perhaps risk seeing them less often, even though on paper she has regular contact with them every 14 days. – I was afraid to ask for help, but I don’t regret doing it, because I see how much it helped my children, and me. MOM: “To mom, you are the best, kind, sweet. I don’t have anyone else but you”, one of Ann Kristin Ludvigsen Pettersen’s children has written to her. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Increases the number of foster homes in close family She is not the only one who gets to send her children to someone they already know. According to Bufdir, it is a statutory municipal duty to always search for foster homes in the child’s family and close network if possible. The change in law came into force in 2018, but became clearer on 1 January 2022, when the municipalities were given full funding responsibility for foster homes. In Stange, they have increased the number of foster homes in families and close networks. – Before, we may not have been so close to the child, whereas we have had a focus on that now, says head of care in Stange child welfare, Per B. Kristensen. He says that Stange municipality is now at 53 per cent recruitment in family and networks. Nationally, one in three children is placed with someone they already know, according to Bufdir. BIGGER FOCUS: – Children who live with someone they know are better off, says Per B. Kristensen, head of care at Stange children’s care. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Kristensen says that they have now been extra concerned with finding someone who knows the child from before, and that previously they have not been very good at involving children and parents when choosing foster parents. – We will continue to work on that. If we manage to involve the family better, we achieve better cooperation. The child will be better off, the parents will be better off and we will have better cooperation around the child. DRAWINGS: The children of Ann Kristin Ludvigsen Pettersen have made drawings for her. The drawings say that they love her and that she is the world’s best mother. Photo: Frode Meskau / news More people will have the opportunity Together with the child welfare service, foster home services and users, Stange and nine other municipalities in the Eastern region have collaborated in the project “Family and close networks first”. The project started in January 2022, and is not taking place elsewhere in the country. With the project, they will be the driving force behind this happening more actively, so that more children who cannot live at home receive care in their own family or network. LEADER: Britt Hege Engeseth is the leader of the pilot project. The project started in January 2022. Photo: Mie Engeset – It is required by law that foster homes must be sought in families and networks. The advantage of that is that the child gets to live with someone they already know, and that this creates stability and security, says Britt Hege Engeseth, who works in the foster home service in the East region. She is also the leader of the pilot project and assists the municipalities in achieving the goal. These municipalities are: Stange, Hamar, Vestby, Indre Østfold, Kongsvinger, Lillehammer, Lillestrøm, Vestre Toten, Østre Toten and Nittedal. – We must continuously work for good foster home care, and that more foster homes are recruited in the child’s own family and network. DRAWING: The children of Ann Kristin Ludvigsen Pettersen have made drawings for her. The children have lived with their grandmother for the past six years. Photo: Frode Meskau / news It is nevertheless the case that in many cases there may be abuse or other serious incidents, which mean that the child cannot be with family or networks. – It is worth surveying and investigating whether it is possible, because the child deserves that we do. But it is quite clear that there are situations in which it is best for children not to live with family and networks, that they have to leave their network for various reasons, says Engeseth. New report on visitation A recent report that came out last week shows that many visitation arrangements work well for both children, parents and foster parents. Many of the children are particularly satisfied with the visitation arrangement. It is the parents who are most dissatisfied. To a greater extent than the children, they want to see more time spent together. – This shows how important it is to talk to the children and get their opinions, at the same time we know that it can be difficult for children to speak up if they want less contact, because they don’t want to hurt their parents, says project leader for the study, Elisabeth Gording Stang, to Fontene. Only one third of the children had a wish to move back home to their parents, while a majority of parents want the child to move home, according to the report.
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More children to be placed in foster homes with close family or networks – grandmother became foster mother – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
