Changes of Foster Care System in Lithuania

Resumo

This article presents some insights about the changes of the foster care system in one of the post communist countries. The information is based on several studies done in this area from 1995 to 2005. The changes in the foster care system are related to the understanding of the child’s needs, the role of the family in human development and the state responsibility for the child and family welfare during the last 20 years. Private initiatives, international relations and the influence of international organizations are all important for the creation of a more open, more representative of human dignity and better foster care system for children and families. Nineteen years went by since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and there were uncountable changes in this area during this period of time. Lithuania, one of the Baltic States, reestablished its independence in 1990. The Catholic religion dominates this country, although it coexists with other different religions. The children who were born before this collapse and lived all their childhood after it made the basis for a whole new generation and even maybe for the subsequent generation. What did the post communist countries inherit from the 80- -50 years of proletariat dictatorship in the substitute child care system? What changes were planned, why, and what happened to the lives of the children and of the families who were fostering them? These could be interesting questions for many social workers and researchers. Issues concerning substitute care of children in the majority of the cases are not on the political agenda or on the pages of newspapers and even when they become important to this area, it is only for a very short period of time and due to some crucial happening.