The Consell de Mallorca wants to promote the foster care culture and recognise the work of families who have already taken the step and offer a solid, loving and caring environment to children under protective measures.

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IMAS launches the ‘Growing up in a family’

To promote foster care as a life option and an act of social responsibility and empathy with children and adolescents in need. This is the aim of the ‘Growing up in a family’ campaign that the Institut Mallorquí d’Afers Socials (IMAS) has launched to get more foster families willing to ‘educate, love and offer a solid, affective and educational environment suitable for their growth and development as people’.

This was highlighted by the Conseller de Benestar Social del Consell de Mallorca and president of IMAS, Guillermo Sánchez, during the presentation of this campaign that IMAS has begun to disseminate coinciding with the International Day of the Family, which is commemorated on Wednesday 15 May. ‘Fostering is a family model that makes us grow as a society, it is an altruistic gesture that offers an affectionate environment, understanding and dedication to a child who, like everyone else, needs it. Fostering is an act of responsibility and courage, an enriching experience in terms of solidarity and the transmission of values”, he said.

Currently 486 children or adolescents in Mallorca live in residential care centres and 487 are in foster care. Councillor Sánchez recalled that IMAS has 482 foster families. ‘But we need many more. Foster care is one of the forms of help and protection for children and adolescents who are temporarily unable to live with their family of origin. It is an alternative measure to foster care where they also receive care, affection and proper education even though a family environment is more optimal, especially for those under the age of six years’.

The presentation of the campaign was also attended by the island directors of Social Services, Childhood and Family, Apol-lònia Socias, and of Centres and Programmes of Comprehensive Care for Children and Adolescents, Magdalena Ramis, as well as some foster families who are or have been part of the foster care experience.

With an emotional approach, the campaign highlights the importance of fostering children and adolescents as a way of creating strong family bonds and providing them with a safe environment. ‘Growing Up as a Family’ also offers resources and support for families who are considering foster care and want to find out more information. The aim is to reach out to a diverse range of people and encourage them to take part in this important task of protecting and caring for society’s most vulnerable children.