New Emergency Foster Home Opens After Three-Year Shortage
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
A new emergency foster home, the first in three years, has opened in Israel to house children needing immediate removal from their homes. The "Or Shalom" organization operates the facility, which faces challenges in recruiting families for the demanding role.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- New emergency foster home opens after three-year shortage.
- Facility can house three to five children up to age six.
- Or Shalom organization operates the new emergency foster home.
- Finding foster families remains a significant challenge.
- Children receive temporary housing and assessments.
- Ministry of Welfare supervises out-of-home placements.
For the first time in three years, a new emergency foster home has opened in Israel, operated by the "Or Shalom" organization. This facility, which is in the final stages of approval and will be run by a carefully selected family, can house between three and five infants and children up to age six who require immediate removal from their homes due to complex circumstances. Emergency foster homes provide a temporary, stable environment for children for up to six months, offering them therapeutic support and psychological, emotional, and developmental assessments while social services work to rehabilitate their biological families. The decision regarding the child's future, whether to return home, move to long-term foster care, or adoption, is made subsequently.
Finding families willing to undertake this demanding role is challenging. Often, one parent must stop working to be available for children who can arrive with short notice and in difficult situations. The temporary nature of the placement and the anticipated separation also deter potential foster parents. The current shortage of foster families sometimes leads to children being placed far from their homes and families, disrupting their connection with parents during supervised visits.
Staff at emergency foster homes can receive as little as a few hours' notice before a child arrives. "We would rush to prepare a bed for them and put out some toys that would be theirs from the first moment, so that upon entering, they would feel they have a place here," one staff member recalled. Children's reactions varied, from refusal to enter the home, continuous crying, withdrawal, or immediate sleep. "No matter how the child enters the door and for how long, our role is that they feel they have a place here and that they are protected in this home," the staff member added.
"Or Shalom" operates various services for children in out-of-home placements under the supervision of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services.