Foster children & adoption

Foster children

Foster parents are always in demand in Innsbruck and throughout Tyrol dringend. Find out here who is eligible to become a foster parent, how the process of taking in a foster child works, what rights and duties foster parents have and what support they receive.

Who can take in a foster child?

In Tyrol, permanent foster care placements are primarily sought. This means that a foster child is accompanied by the foster parents until they reach the age of majority and possibly beyond (until their 21st birthday). As a rule, children are between 0 and 3 years old when they enter a foster family.

If you would like to take in a foster child, there are the following requirements:

• You should be between 28 and 45 years old (for infants).
• regular living conditions
• stable family circumstances
• financial stability
• intact social environment
• single or in partnership
• They show willingness to cooperate with the responsible child and youth welfare services and the natural parents.

What is the procedure for taking in a foster child?

1. You contact Service Unit Foster children, adoption and unaccompanied minor refugees with your wish to take in a foster child.
2. The social worker responsible for child and youth welfare will conduct several personal interviews with you. A worksheet is drawn up in the course of the interviews. You give the social worker a medical certificate and your consent to obtain a criminal record extract.
3. If there are several home visits, the social worker will check the requirements.
4. You complete the free foster parent course, regardless of your previous training. The responsible social worker will register you for this preparatory course.
5. A foster child will be placed with you. You will receive intensive support from the child and youth welfare service. An outpatient supervisor will support you and also accompany you during visits with the biological parents.
6. You will receive financial compensation for looking after a foster child, depending on the age of the child (from approx. 520 euros for a child under 3 years of age). It is also possible to receive a special allowance for e.g. deductibles, therapeutic measures, medical technical aids and allowances, e.g. for the purchase of documents.
7. As a caregiver, you will receive support from the social workers. In addition to supervision and further training, you can also take part in regular carers' meetings.

What rights and obligations do I have as a foster parent?

• You must be willing to cooperate with child and youth welfare services.
• You are open to regular contact between the foster child and his or her biological parents. If necessary, this contact can also be professionally accompanied by social workers.
• For your work as a foster parent, you will receive a so-called foster parent allowance, which is paid on a sliding scale according to the age of your foster child. In addition, you are entitled to receive family allowance for the foster child.
• In the case of young children, it is possible to take maternity/paternity leave and receive childcare allowance.
• You can take out voluntary self-insurance. This insurance includes health and pension insurance, but not accident or unemployment insurance.

Adoption

Learn on the one hand who can adopt a child and how an adoption works, or on the other hand how you can give a child up for adoption and what types of adoptions there are.

Who can adopt a child?

If you want to adopt a child, there are the following requirements:

• You must be between 25 years old and a maximum of 45 years old
• You must be a married couple (also same-sex)
• Age difference to the adopted child: at least 16 years
• regular living conditions
• financial stability
• intact social environment

How does an adoption work?

1. You contact the Caritas adoption counseling service.
2. You contact Service Unit Foster children, adoption and unaccompanied minor refugees with your wish to adopt a child.
3. The responsible social worker from the child and youth welfare service conducts several personal interviews with you.
   1. In the course of the interviews (suitability assessment), a worksheet is completed.
   2. You provide the social worker with a medical certificate and your consent to obtain a criminal record extract.
4. You attend an information evening for adoption applicants.
5. If there are several home visits, the social worker will check further requirements.
6. You complete the preparatory course for adoptions at Caritas Innsbruck (costs 600 euros per couple).
7. If you are suitable, you will be included in the Tyrol-wide evidence file. However, it sometimes takes around five years before a child is actually placed. An alternative is to take in a foster child.
8. An adoption contract is drawn up (costs approx. 500 euros per couple). At this stage, the child is in adoptive care with you.
9. The judicial approval procedure takes place at the district court in the child's place of residence:
   1. Examination of the requirements
   2. Hearings (of the parents, the adopted child, the child and youth welfare services, the foster parents, ...)
   3. Consent of the parents of the underage adoptive child
   4. Consent of the adoptive parents
   5. Consent of the adult adopted child who is not capable of making decisions or of the legal representative of the minor adopted child
10. the application is approved by the court - this makes the adoption contract effective.

How can I give a child up for adoption?

If you want to give a child up for adoption, contact Service Unit Foster children, adoption and unaccompanied minor refugees as early as possible The social workers will be happy to help and advise you.

What types of adoptions are there?

• Incognito adoption: The relinquishing parents cannot obtain any data about the child's adoptive parents. The child and youth welfare agency acts as an intermediary authority. The name of the relinquishing parents is known to the child and youth welfare authority for later inquiries or requests.
• Open adoption: The adoptive parents and the relinquishing parents know the personal data of each other. Limited contact between the child and the relinquishing parents is possible. This variant is the preferred form of adoption today.
• Anonymous birth: The relinquishing mother gives birth without disclosing her own identity. By law, custody is taken over by the competent child and youth welfare authority until the legally binding adoption approval decision.