Foster Care Act
Foster Care Act
Foster Care Act
Child- refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age, or one who is over
eighteen (18) but is unable to fully take care of or protect oneself from abuse,
neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental
disability or condition.
Family-refers to the parents or brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-
blood, of the child.
Foster Family Care License- refers to the document issued by the DSWD
authorizing the foster parent to provide foster care.
Foster Parent- refers to a person, duly licensed by the DSWD, to provide foster
care.
Matching- refers to the judicious pairing of a child with foster parent and family
members based on the capacity and commitment of the foster parent to meet the
individual needs of the particular child and the capacity of the child to benefit
from the placement.
Placement- refers to the physical transfer of the child with the foster parent.
Relatives- refer to the relatives of a child, other than family members, within the
fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Social Worker- refers to the registered and licensed social worker of the DSWD,
local government unit (LGU) or agency.
Section 4. Who May Be Placed Under Foster Care. – The following may be
placed in foster care:
(b) A child who is a victim of sexual, physical, or any other form of abuse or
exploitation;
(e) A child awaiting adoptive placement and who would have to be prepared for
family life;
(f) A child who needs long-term care and close family ties but who cannot be
placed for domestic adoption;
(h) A child who is under socially difficult circumstances such as, but not limited to,
a street child, a child in armed conflict or a victim of child labor or trafficking;
(i) A child who committed a minor offense but is released on recognizance, or
who is in custody supervision or whose case is dismissed; and
Provided, That in the case of (b), (c), (f), (h), (i), and (j), the child must have no
family willing and capable of caring and providing for him
Section 5. Who May Be a Foster Parent. – An applicant who meets all of the
following qualifications may be a foster parent:
(b) Must be at least sixteen (16) years older than the child unless the foster
parent is a relative;
(c) Must have a genuine interest, capacity and commitment in parenting and is
able to provide a familial atmosphere for the child;
(d) Must have a healthy and harmonious relationship with each family member
living with him or her;
(g) Must have sufficient resources to be able to provide for the family’s needs;
(h) Must be willing to further hone or be trained on knowledge, attitudes and skills
in caring for a child; and
(i) Must not already have the maximum number of children under his foster care
at the time of application or award, as may be provided in the implementing rules
and regulations (IRR) of this Act.
Provided, That in determining who is the best suited foster parent, the relatives of
the child shall be given priority, so long as they meet the above qualifications:
Provided, further, That an alien possessing the above qualifications and who has
resided in the Philippines for at least twelve (12) continuous months and
maintains such residence until the termination of placement by the DSWD or
expiration of the foster family license, may qualify as a foster parent.
PROCEDURE:
d. Matching. – Matching shall be done by the agency only after the child
case study and the home study have been conducted, save for
exceptions to be determined by the DSWD, taking into consideration
the best interests of the child.
e. Placement. – The physical transfer of the child to the foster parent shall
be allowed only after the FPA has been issued, save for exceptions to be
determined by the DSWD, taking into consideration the best interest of the
child.
In case of incident, injury or death of a foster child, or if he runs away or gets lost, such
case shall be reported immediately to the agency, which, in turn, shall immediately
report the same to the DSWD.
(f) In all cases where placement becomes prejudicial to the welfare of the
child, such as, but not limited to, abandonment, maltreatment, sexual
assault, violence or other forms of abuse.
Provided, That in the case of (f), the foster child, with the assistance of a registered
social worker, shall have the option to apply for termination of placement.
For purposes of this section, only one (1) foster parent can treat the foster child as a
dependent for a particular taxable year. As such, no other parent or foster parent can
claim the said child as a dependent for that period.