Family care for people who have arrived in Finland as unaccompanied minors
We provide care and support for children with the aim of helping them to integrate into Finland.
Foster care is intended for minors living in Finland without a guardian who have received a residence permit. In foster care, the child is placed into a family and gets the opportunity to have close relationships and home-like care. In foster care, the child is provided with care and a safe living environment and their growth and development are supported. In foster care, particular attention is paid to supporting the child's integration. The child will learn the knowledge and skills needed in the Finnish society, but at the same time, their own cultural identity and the maintenance of their mother tongue skills will be supported. Foster care includes regular meetings and contact with both the social worker in charge and the social counsellor. If needed, it will also include network cooperation, for example, with the child's school or health care professionals. New family carers will receive coaching in foster care. The child, the family carer and the family are supported in many ways, for example by: - supporting the care and upbringing of the child - helping them to take care of the child's affairs and, if necessary, referring them to the right services - supporting the interaction between the child and the family and solving potential challenges together - supporting and helping the child to communicate with their biological parents - providing the child with personal social guidance to promote their well-being and everyday life - monitoring the child's needs and well-being through various goal-oriented plans - taking possible foster siblings into consideration during the process.
Conditions for receiving the Service
- Foster care is intended for minors living in Finland without a guardian who have received a residence permit. - The service is granted on the basis of an evaluation of the clients needs. - The foster care service must begin before the young person turns 18 and cannot continue beyond the age of 21.
The service is free of charge.