Fostering Services - Boys' Town

Home » Services » Fostering (Overview) < Back to Services & Programmes FOSTERING SERVICES

A family-based foster care service for vulnerable boys and girls in Singapore.

• Overview

ABOUT OUR FOSTERING SERVICE

In February 2015, Boys’ Town Fostering Services (BTFS) was appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) as one of the first two pilot Fostering Agencies in Singapore and commenced its operations in November 2015. In 2019, BTFS expanded its foster care services to support children under kinship care. BTFS supports children in care to achieve their potential through providing a stable, safe family environment that meets their needs. These children are referred by MSF Child Protective services.

Fostering is a temporary care arrangement that provides children under 18 years of age in need of a safe, stable and nurturing home. Children are often placed on the Fostering Scheme due to welfare reasons and a lack of alternative kinship care arrangements and thus, have to seek placement with a foster family

Foster parents treat the foster children as their own during this period of time – ensuring that their physical and emotional needs are met, attending to their medical needs (if any) and providing adequate guidance and supervision to these young children. They are expected to support meetings between the foster children and their natural family as part of the plan to reintegrate the foster children with their natural parents. Training will be provided for the foster parents to support the foster placements.

Why are children in foster care?

Children may be in foster care for the following reasons:

They have been abused, neglected or abandoned

Their parents are unable to care for them due to imprisonment, physical or mental illness, death of one or both parents or other reasons

SUCCESSFUL FOSTER CARE STORIES IN SINGAPORE

Hello Singapore | Safe Harbour: Foster children are my children too.

Not every child is fortunate enough to grow up under the care of their natural mum and dad. How can a foster care programme help these children feel the warmth and love of a household once again? The first episode of the “Safe Harbour” TV news series brings you into a foster household in Singapore. Find out from foster parents what goes through their minds when helping to care for someone else’s child, and how much patience and courage is needed to embark on the fostering journey.

"We are already cooking dinner and serving rice on our table, it’s just one more bowl for that child.” Meet Tiffany and Desmond as they share their journey fostering Carina* and why they decide to foster before having their own child.

*Not her real name

“I’m 12 years old but I feel like 100”, watch how foster family transformed the lives of Rizwan* and his sister.

*Not his real name

Jia Yi* used to hate reading as she could not read well. Watch how her foster family helped Jia Yi strengthen her reading skills while she looked forward to reuniting with her mummy!

*Not her real name

WHAT IS THE FOSTERING PROCESS LIKE?

Aside from providing youth residential services for children and young boys, Boys' Town also has a foster care programme in Singapore that provides safe and nurturing homes for children who cannot currently live with their biological families. The process involves several steps to ensure the well-being and suitability of the child and their potential foster parents.

Our team of social workers in Singapore work closely with MSF, foster families and foster children, kin carers and children placed in kinship care, to provide a conducive home environment for vulnerable children through the following services:

• Bimonthly home visits
• 24-hr hotline support to our foster parents
• Parenting advice
• Training and information
• Casework management for foster children
• Referral for specialised services for foster child (if needed)
• Support with financial subsidies
• Subsidies for childcare
• Childcare leave entitlements
• Respite care arrangements
• Programmes for foster parents and children

All our social workers and case workers are also equipped with knowledge on trauma-informed care to work with foster children with trauma backgrounds.

Be a foster parent

For children from disadvantaged backgrounds, foster care gives them a positive experience of family life, which they may not have had in their natural family setting. By fostering, you are enabling a child by not only providing the child with physical needs, but also meeting a child’s emotional needs so that the child can learn that he or she is worthy of love. Foster care also teaches them important lessons on how families show care and concern for one another.

APPLICATION FORM SUBMISSION

All potential foster care applicants must submit a completely-filled out application form through the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) online form. Your application form will be reviewed and you will be notified of the interview and assessment schedule once the review is done. Should you have any enquiries, please email us at [email protected].

INTERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT

A Boys' Town representative will conduct a home visit to assess your living environment’s suitability for foster care. Our representative will interview the parents and the household to discuss fostering. Applicants, particularly the parents, must undergo certain screenings to determine if they are medically fit to foster a child.

APPROVAL

Once the interview and foster care assessment are done, we will create a final report to submit to the MSF panel for further evaluation. This step may take up to 2-3 months.

TRAINING AND INDUCTION

Once approved, foster parents will undergo foundation and intermediate training. These training sessions aim to prepare you for caring for your foster child.

Aside from being a foster parent, you can also opt to help the children in our care by donating to our children's home in Singapore. Together, we can make a positive impact on these children’s lives.

Who can apply to be foster parents? Check eligibility

• Be married and apply together as a couple
• Be at least 25 years old
• Be financially stable and medically fit to care for children
• Commit to provide a child-safe home environment. This includes refraining from the use of physical punishment such as caning or hitting. For foster parents caring for children below the age of 13, a child-safe environment includes having window grilles on all windows

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE Apply to be a foster parent Register your interest

If you are interested in being a foster parent or offering foster care, register your interest through the MSF online form. Do indicate “Boys’ Town” via the online application form if you would like to be supported by us. Should you have any enquiries or face any problems during the application process, drop us an email at The matching process takes into consideration the needs of the foster child and the ability of the foster family to care for the child. Foster parents can indicate the preferences such as age, gender and race of a child that they feel they can best care for.

How is the assessment of foster parent applications conducted?

Once your completed application form is received and you meet the criteria, you can expect the following as part of the assessment process:

• Collation of supporting documents and additional information 🡪 You will be contacted by our recruitment officers for supporting documents and further information.
• Home visit 🡪 Home visits will be conducted to assess your home environment and to speak to all your household members about fostering.
• Medical screening 🡪 You will be assessed on your ability to foster a child and will undergo medical screening.