"AFE Networks , Acogimiento Familiar Especializado" is a pilot project led by FICE España, which also involves the Agintzari Social Initiative Cooperative and Resilis Foundation. It is funded by Next Generation funds through the Spanish Government's Ministerio de Derechos Sociales y Agenda 2030, .

The specialist family fostering project is aimed providing a response to children and teenagers aged 7 to 18 with behavioural, adaptation and mental-health problems currently in residential foster care and at offering specialist family fostering on a pilot basis in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Madrid and Navarre.

The Liberi team is collaborating here by analysing the key factors to consider when determining the suitability of specialist fostering families and assessing the impact of the specific training these families receive.

Specialist family fostering

Family fostering may be specialist, meaning the care provided by a family where at least one individual making up the family unit is specifically qualified, experienced or trained to play this role with minors with special needs or circumstances, are therefore eligible to receive compensation (Framework Act 1/1996, of 15 January, on the Legal Protection of Minors, Article 20(1)).

Characteristics of children and teenagers

The Specialist Family Fostering Programme aims to cover the needs of children and teenagers with characteristics that make it hard for them to be fostered by volunteer families and able to live in a family environment that helps to repair emotional damage, by working on the difficulties of their prior history and encouraging their well-being and social inclusion.It is about individuals under tutelage or guardianship, of legal age, in residential foster care:

• With some recognised disability
• With special health or risk problems or behavioural or adaptation problems
• With other special needs
• Groups of siblings and teenagers with difficulties finding a voluntary foster family.

Requirements for fosterers

• University bachelor's degree in Social Education, Teaching, Nursing, Medicine, Pedagogy, Psychopedagogy, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, or, failing that, other non-university educational degrees or Vocational Training qualifications relating to healthcare, social and community or socio-educational sectors.
• Practical experience of at least 2 years relating to assistance, care, eduction or protection of minors.
• Full availability to guarantee care for the fostered child.
• Qualified to implement a structured intervention plan, assess the child's development and needs, coordinate with resources and collaborate in monitoring with the professionals.
• Individuals who are single or with a partner, with or without children or another fostered child.
• At least, one of the adults of the household nucleus must be specially qualified, experienced and trained to play this role.

Project's stages

This is a 3-year project.It started in January 2022 and will extend to December 2024.The project has 4 stages:

1.Advice and design of the programme
2.Communication campaign and family recruitment. 

The aim is to recruit 60 families in the 5 territories:

• Araba: 6 families
• Bizkaia: 10 families
• Madrid: 20 families
• Catalonia: 16 families
• Navarre: 8 families

Recruitment campaigns are currently in progress on both State and regional levels.The goal is to recruit professionals who meet the requirements and wish to join the specialist family fostering programme. 

3.Piloting and launching the model

• Selecting cases and assessing families
• Linking and monitoring

4.Disseminating the results of the assessment

•  Preparing scaling-up of the programme for 2025

The project's assessment consists of several parts: 

• Impact assessment of the programme on the children and teenagers taking part, carried out by the GIFI research team.
• Identification of the key factors to consider when determining the suitability of specialist fostering families and assessing the impact of the specific training these families receive. Carried out by the Liberi research team.
• Assessment of the development or perceptions of officers in contact with the project
• Assessment of the Specialist Family Fostering (AFE) Networks’ economic return
• Overall impact Assessment of the project