Fostering Across Borders (FAB)

Almost 200,000 unaccompanied migrant children sought asylum in Europe since the surge in arrivals of refugees and migrants in 2015. Fostering Across Borders aims to improve and expand the quality of family-based care for unaccompanied migrant children in six EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Poland and the United Kingdom. Foster carers will be trained on and supported to address challenges and vulnerabilities these children may face.

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights recognised that family-based care is better than large-scale residences to provide a nurturing environment and address children individual needs. At the same time, training for professionals remains a high priority to provide the highest standards of care and protection, as the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights highlights.

The report also found that fewer children go missing from foster care compared to reception centres and institutions. Nonetheless, the majority of the unaccompanied migrant children in Europe live in large-scale residential care facilities. Fostering Across Borders builds on the manual for professionals and the experience of the Alternative Family Care - ALFACA project, that also produced an e-learning package. The project, which runs  from January 2018 to September 2019, is led by IOM and delivered alongside local partners.

For more information on FAB activities, resources, downloadable materials and implementing partners, click here.