When choosing a foster family, the general health condition and eligibility of the applicant and all family members are taken into account. The caregiver is obliged to provide the child with care and accommodation in the family, general and personal hygiene, nutrition, necessary clothes and shoes, to take care of the child’s health, to take care of their development, upbringing and education. The caregiver is obliged to take care of meeting the ethical, cultural, entertainment and recreational needs of the child placed in the family, as well as to respect the ethnic affiliation and religious customs of the child. 

At the same time, the foster parent is obliged to enable the continuation of the child’s relationship with their biological family, if they have one, and to take care of and prepare the child for meetings with their biological family. The child is placed in a foster family until a permanent solution is provided, which is to return to the biological family or to be adopted. The Law on Social Protection gives the right to compensation for the costs of accommodation of the child and compensation for foster care.

5 parts broken down: general, relative, interventional, specialized and occasional

General

General care is a service through which children are provided with care to satisfy their daily needs, personal care, upbringing, education, development, health status etc. Users of the service are: elderly people, children without parents and parental care, people with disabilities.

Kinship

Kinship care is a care service for a child without parents and without parental care, in the family of their grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister, uncle, uncle or aunt.

Interventional

Intervening care is a service of short-term care in a family of persons for whom immediate protection is necessary, until suitable forms of protection are found, and for a maximum of 30 days. Users of the service are: children without parents and parental care, children from conflict families, victims of violence, victims of human trafficking and other persons whose social situation requires immediate care and protection.

Specialized

Specialized care is a service through which children are provided with general care and support to overcome social problems, and which is provided by caregivers who have undergone specialized training. The user of the service is: a child victim of domestic violence, a child at risk and a child in conflict with the law, a child or a person with a disability

Respite care

Respite foster family provides care for a child or an adult cared for in another foster family, as well as for a child or an adult with a disability who lives with a parent/guardian for the purpose of rest, therapy, treatment and completion of the caregiver’s domestic, family and professional obligations, i.e. the parent/guardian. After the termination of the need for temporary care, the foster family, ie the parent/guardian, continues to care for the child or person.

According to the Decision on the price of the social service for 2022, the amount of the monthly compensation, expressed in net amount, amounts to:

The amount for general foster care is:

16,730 denars per month for a child, when one child is taken care of,

14,554 denars per month for each child, when two children are taken care of,

13,091 denars per month for each child, when three children are taken care of,

12,041 denars per month for each child, when four children are taken care of,

11,249 denars per month for each child, when five children are taken care of.

The amount for fostering in kinship care is:

10,978 denars per month for a child, when one child is taken care of,

8,826 denars per month for each child, when two children are taken care of,

7,379 denars per month for each child, when three children are taken care of,

6,340 denars per month for each child, when four children are taken care of,

5,557 denars per month for each child, when five children are taken care of.

The price for interventional care in another family is MKD 17,584 per month. 

The price for specialized care is:

19,615 denars per month for a person with a disability, when one person is cared for,

17,094 denars per month for a person with a disability when two people are taken care of,

MKD 18,147 per month for a child/person at risk.