Thea Mari M.

Magdasoc

BSSW 3-A

Best Interest of the Child

A Reflection Paper on Foster Care and Adoption

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its
children.”
— Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

The webinar on Foster Care and Adoption gave us an in-depth understanding of how
these programs and services of the Department of Social Welfare and Development
works and the significance it plays in the setting of child welfare. Proper enforcement
and compliance to the legal bases of these programs must also be observed to ensure
that policies formulated are effective and cohesive to the sector being catered, for
efficient implementation.

The things we see on television or in dramas are not fiction but a mirror of reality.
Children have to be separated from their biological families because they want to give
them a chance to have a better life or they have been a subject of abuse and neglect or
became orphans. It is very saddening that at such young age they have to experience
such tragic events. It made me realize how important family planning is, in order to
ensure that you will be able to provide for the needs of your children. Having a family
of your own is a big responsibility because you also have to be responsible for the life of
your children, not just your own. You must ensure that their needs are met, that they
can go to school, have a good environment to grow, and meet their basic needs to
ensure that they too can live a proper life, a life that they deserve.

The advocacy video for the Foster Care program of the DSWD was really heart warming
and I salute the woman in the video, the children were a complete strangers to her,
they are not blood related or anything but she gives them love like a mother to her own
children, she make sacrifices for the children as their adoptive parent, for me that was
really noble and rare. The dedication she has to take care of the children like they are
her own flesh and blood, when she said that she can take care of herself but they need
her to be there for them because they don’t have parents anymore. She is like a pillar of
hope and strength for the children she is fostering. You can see the sincerity and
honesty behind her words; it was so touching it made all of us cry. Some people have so
much goodness in their hearts. You can see the genuine smile the children have on their
faces being with her. We can always do good for other people without asking anything
in return. I just think that it will be really hard for her to part with them, like giving away
a piece of yourself because the children she took good care of will always be part of her.

Foster care has its pros and cons, its main purpose is to prepare the child for an
adoptive family, but the child can already consider the foster family he is in a family
itself but then it’s only temporary. Referred to as multiple placements, this temporary
attachment and detachment actually has a negative effect on the psychological and
developmental well being of the child. This can lead to emotional consequences such as
Thea Mari M. Magdasoc

BSSW 3-A
attachment disorder and trust issues and also result to social difficulty, a tendency
toward antisocial traits and borderline personality disorders.

Foster Care is the provision of planned substitute parental care to a child by a licensed
foster family, it moves towards a goal – family reunification or placement with an
adoptive family. Adoption on the other hand, is a socio-legal process of providing a
permanent family to a child whose parents have voluntary or involuntary relinquished
parental authority over the child.

Adoption is a long and rigorous legal process involving different kinds of procedures on
both sides. This is to ensure that the child will be properly taken care of by the adoptive
family petitioning for adoption. A group of professionals specializing in child welfare is
also involved, together they work hand in hand with social workers to ensure that the
adoptive chid will have a family environment that is conducive for her growth and well
being.

In the Philippine setting there is a need to raise awareness and that we all have the
right to form

Family is the basic institution of the society, the influence it has on a child is paramount
in her development as a person in the society he is living in, that is why it is also
important to uphold and protect its primary function as one of the building blocks of a
functional society.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 16 states that we all have the right to
marry and found a family. As they say there is no guide in the path of parenthood, but
one must be responsible and at some be point ready enough financially, emotionally,
and mentally to carry the great responsibility it entails.

Conclusion

The webinar on Foster Care and Adoption clearly enlightened me on the overall legal
processes and procedures that must be followed; it shed light and cleared certain
misconceptions. It made me realize that Foster Care and Adoption is one of the
programs of the DSWD that focuses on child welfare, through these programs children
are given better lives and provides hope. I would like to say that I know that these
programs are for the better of the children’s lives but I also hope that maybe someday
programs will also be created to keep families together, like programs that strengthens
the whole family dynamics I know this sound so ideal I just hope that children they can
stay given a chance wherein things can still work out for the child not be separated from
her biological family, personally I know how great the influence of a family give to a
person, how much strength and foundation it draws to an individual. We have seen
countless times situations wherein an adopted person seeks to find their biological
parents or siblings because they say that they can never be complete without meeting
them, that is how irreplaceable a family is. It will always be a part of who you are, no
matter what.
Thea Mari M. Magdasoc

BSSW 3-A
As our Resource Speaker in Foster Care said , “Our work is very fulfilling, when you work
in the children sector, the fulfilment of the profession is there” . Ms. Katherine Rodriguez

How significant the roles of social workers play in ensuring the welfare of the child in
these programs and services of the DSWD. Our judgment and assessment is of high
regard that is why we must be very meticulous and responsible.

We must be well versed in order to defend the case we are presenting for a life is at
stake.

I hope that webinars like this can also be conducted for the public so that they too can
be aware of these services and be enlightened that Social Workers work in a very
diverse and complex setting, breaking misconceptions and stereotypes.

We also had in-depth understanding of the real life situations and challenges social
workers face in the child welfare setting, as the resource speaker in Foster Care shared
she became attached to the children she has also fostered. It cannot be avoided I think
this is where controlled emotional involvement comes into place.

There are a lot of processes involved also, proper steps and legal processes must be
followed to also ensure the safety and well-being of the child.

The end point of foster care is adoption. It is a

When it comes to a child being placed in foster care, there are a lot of underlying issues
to be addressed.

For me honestly it’s still very baffling poverty is not a reason for a child to How it affects
thieove all well being Especially in foster care with these they foster families have a hard
time connecting with others, they withdraw because it is hard for them to create stable
connections with others.

The reproductive health bill, that is why family planning really is

But its also not like that everytime, the resource speaker said that she never
encountered f