Belgium’s socialist party Vooruit have introduced a bill to extend existing leave schemes to foster parents and foster children, arguing they should also be able to care for one another when needed most.
MPs Anja Vanrobaeys and Funda Oru submitted the proposal at the start of foster care week, the party said on Friday. Earlier in this parliamentary term, the Chamber had already extended parental leave to foster parents. Vooruit now wants other forms of leave to be broadened as well.
The party said more than 10,000 children and young people in Flanders are cared for each year by more than 8,000 foster families. Those families, Oru said, deserve proper support.
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Differences still remain in the career break system, known as time credit. Foster parents currently have no right to time credit to care for children under eight or for a child under 21 with a disability.
Other leave arrangements also require the foster child to be part of the household. These include medical assistance leave, care leave and time credit to care for a seriously ill family or household member.
In practice, that means adult foster children who eventually leave home cannot take leave to care for their foster parent.
Vanrobaeys said foster parents and foster children should be able to take leave to support each other when they need it most. In long-term foster care, she said, the bond can be just as strong as that between a biological parent and child, and leave rules should reflect that.
