The FORM project, which aimed to enhance foster care for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) by equipping foster care workers with the tools to address the unique challenges these children face, has successfully been completed. Ultimately, the goal of the project was to improve the support provided to URMs, who often struggle with trauma, loss, and difficulty forming new attachments due to their experiences of displacement, separation from biological families, and cultural dislocation. These dynamics also create challenges for foster parents trying to provide a stable and supportive environment.
The project’s conceptual framework, available in English and Greek, introduces a psychodynamic, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive approach to foster care. It emphasizes the importance of education, training, and supervision for foster care workers, enabling them to better understand and address the emotional and relational needs of URMs and their foster families. A practical guide has been developed to translate these theoretical concepts into actionable steps for foster care work. It’s available here in English and Greek.
Additionally, the project developed policy recommendations, available in English and Greek, to support a more comprehensive foster care system capable of addressing the evolving challenges of Europe’s asylum crisis. These recommendations focus on fostering multidisciplinary skills among care workers to handle trauma, identity crises, and emotional challenges in URMs.
The FORM project is co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission (Ref. 2021-1-BE02-KA220-VET-000033060)