PHILIPSBURG:--- Foster Families Central contributes child protection on St. Maarten by providing protection, assistance, and equal development to all children by matching them with a foster family that suits their needs.
For many years, the Foundation Judiciary Institute Windward Island has been working with and for the youth, to provide them with the opportunity to grow up in a better environment. The Foster Families Central was established in august 2008 to support these efforts and assist with achieving this goal.
The Foster Care Central is a unit within the Foundation Judiciary Institute Windward Island (FJIWI) that works in the benefit of foster children and foster parents. This department is involved with recruiting, screening, and training foster parents, as well as matching of foster children with a suitable foster family. We focus our efforts on families and individuals that can be of some assistance to children that are being neglected, abused, exploited, abandoned and children who are in a serious family crisis.
For all the foster children that are on the island of St. Maarten, an attempt will be made to match the foster child with the appropriate foster parent. These families will provide a (temporary) supportive and safe environment for foster children, who unfortunately are not able to live with their biological parents. The foster family provides a home where the child can be given stability, receive affection and consistency, in a nurturing environment for their optimal development. Foster parents are monitored by the Foster Families Central and guided by the Family Guardian from the inception up to when the child is free to go back to their respective home.
Families that are interested in serving as a foster family are not only required to have a strong and stable family make-up but also must be willing to work along with the different departments in the best interest of the foster child. Additionally, the foster parent will have the opportunity to follow training (which the first training will start before the end of 2013) and participate in the Foster Family Support Group, where their personal experiences, important information, and day to day challenges can be shared.
Currently, there are several foster children that are waiting for foster parents, who are willing to open their house and hearts to welcome them. The kind of foster parents we are seeking are as follows: long term, short term, weekend, crisis, respite (to assist the actual foster parents in a weekend or during the week) or vacation foster parents.
For more information on how you can become a foster parent, please contact the F.J.I.W.I. or Foster Families Central, Drs. R. Hanze, at telephone number (721) 542-3468 or by emailing us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . You can also visit our websites at www.sjib.net, www.sjib.net/fosterparenting and www.caribbeanfostercare.com.