HOW COVID-19 IS CHANGING FOSTER CARE, ADOPTION AND SURROGACY?

The COVID-19 has caused intense changes in the daily life of the globalized population. Every day people are forced to adapt to new life habits. For children, these changes are increased because they are still at the beginning of their social and cognitive development. 

FROM BRAZIL- For them, it is difficult to understand the real risk of an invisible threat, in addition, they need to deal with changes in their routine such as not going to school or not having contact with relatives, colleagues and other common people in their daily lives and also necessary for their development. For children living in foster care, this process can be even more painful, because of their previous stories of lives marked by violence. Now, they are forced to deal with new disruptions that can be potentially destabilizing.

In many countries, it is still common for children and adolescents who, for different reasons, are removed from their parents or guardians to be taken to shelters. In these services, a group of children is under the responsibility of adults who take turns in their care. Faced with the world pandemic scenario, these services are under a major responsibility as they face the challenge of protecting the children of the COVID-19 and, at the same time, providing them with the necessary support to deal with this period of uncertainties and anxieties that can reverberate. increasing aggressive behavior or social isolation.

In some countries such as Brazil, Spain and United Kingdon foster services are being directed to suspend visits and facilitate the interaction of children with family members and significant people in the community through phone and video calls. There is no guarantee, however, that these families will have access to internet data plans or even keep an active cell phone. It is known that the vast majority of these children come from poor families who deal daily with the difficulty of providing what is necessary for subsistence and that, in a scenario of increased unemployment and impediment to the exercise of some autonomous activities, it is aggravated.

Added to this, the fact that the shelter team is usually not sufficient to guarantee individualized care for children and that this number can be significantly reduced by the medical leave of workers who are at risk for COVID-19: In this context, children can be affected and different areas of their development, such as education due to the absence of caregivers who accompany them in this process.  In addition, many of these workers may feel emotionally overwhelmed by the responsibility of taking turns between their residence and the shelter at risk of being both contaminated, and of transmitting the disease in the home-shelter interaction. The same can occur with foster parents who need to work outside their homes.

Even in the foster family, the stress caused by the consequences of the pandemic can facilitate the occurrence of abuse against children. This situation is aggravated by the impossibility of the services responsible for providing support and guidance to caregivers, as well as inspecting foster cares to do this in person. Furthermore, the procedural monitoring of protective measures applied to children is compromised, which points to the need to rethink traditional strategies, especially in the face of a scenario in which there are no concrete answers about when the pandemic will end, especially in developing countries.

New methodologies will be demands to answer questions about how a child can return to live with the family of origin in the face of the impossibility of carrying out face-to-face monitoring without exposing the family and socio workers to the risk of COVID-19. As well, as to how the adoption processes will take place; These are questions that demand reflection and immediate actions in order to provide children with their fundamental right to have and live with a family. Added to this, the more time children spend in foster care, the less likely they are to be adopted. In developing countries, this situation is usually overcome by international adoption, but with the closure of borders, this possibility is becoming more difficult.

Difficulties that also affect the option of people exercising parenthood through surrogacy in outside countries. This option puts the pregnant woman at risk because she is more exposed to COVID-19 due to lower immunity and major emotional vulnerability. In addition, depending on her geographical location, she may have great difficulties in continuing prenatal care and having a safe delivery and postpartum period. Furthermore, in the face of border closings, flight cancellations, and lockdowns, the baby may be born without guarantees that fathers and/or mothers will be present to build the first bonds and provide the necessary care.

The globalized world has not proved to be a safe place for children. They are the main group affected by poverty and violence in its different forms. In view of the crises generated by the current pandemic, efforts need to be made to protect children considering their geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic specificities. Although the reality of life permeated by COVID-19 does not have a pre-established roadmap or end, there are consequences that can be predicted, such as increased poverty and the susceptibility of children to the loss of their loved ones, including their parents, family and others significant people in their lives. This context requires effective intersectoral actions to provide the rights of children and adolescents who face the challenge of adapting or building new forms of care for this public, their families, and communities.

By Tabita Aija Silva Moreira

Tabita is a 32-year-old-psychologist from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil). She is a doctoral student in Psychology. Also, she is in a period of studies at the University of Salamanca (Spain) with the support of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (Capes) - Finance Code 001. Her areas of studies and professional practice are juvenile justice, adoption, foster care, homeless women and maternity.