Predčasné ukončovanie náhradnej rodinnej starostlivosti v Slovenskej republike
Premature termination of foster care in the Slovak Republic

Summary/Abstract: The number of foster families who, after receiving a child, went through the experience of the early termination of care, is relatively small in Slovakia. A rising trend has been noticeable in recent years, however. Based on the statements of foster parents in a quantitative questionnaire-based survey, the paper looks at the circumstances associated with the premature termination of foster care. As there is more than one reason for the unplanned ending of foster care, the research tries to piece together a more comprehensive picture of the issue. The paper presents the role of factors linked to the subjective statements of foster parents about the biggest problems stemming from foster care. Along with other areas like the use of socio-legal protection services, the characteristics and socio-demographic indicators of fostered children and foster families, we identify the chances and the overall influence of the various sets of chances on the unplanned termination of care. The paper is not just a qualitative summary of the circumstances playing a key role in the child's leaving the foster family. Having identified the problems, it proposes concrete changes as well. The results can serve as a basis for improving measures in the socio-legal protection of all children who, for various reasons, did not get the chance to grow up in their original biological families. They are an impulse for strengthening selected activities and redesigning them so they are better suited to the needs of children living outside their original families. As a secondary consequence, they can thus ease the burden on the foster families as well.

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