Zagreb - Both ruling and opposition MPs supported the proposal by the Parliamentary Committee for Families, Youth and Sports to mark 31 May 31 as the National Day of Foster Care in order to recognize foster parents , but they also warned of the decline in the number of foster parents.
"We believe that by marking the Day of Foster Care, we would contribute to the visibility and strengthening of the positive image of foster care in society and the systematic sensitisation of citizens," said Nada Murganić , a member of that Committee, on behalf of the HDZ . In a way, she pointed out, it would be both thanks and recognition for all 2,478 foster parents currently in the country. Of these, 1,283 are fostering children.
Murganić, when asked by several representatives about a decline in the number of foster parents, reminded that the Law on Foster Care was passed in 2018, after the amendment of that law, which increased the allowances for foster parents and foster persons in order to facilitate foster care.
She also explained that in order to promote foster care, instructions were sent to social care centers to organise teams and to monitor and promote foster care for those citizens who express a need for it. "I think there is some progress," she said.