Foster care for childeren in Croatia – experiences od foster parents

S obzirom na smanjivanje broja udomiteljskih obitelji i važnost za dijete kojemu se pruža mogućnost odrastanja u obiteljskom okruženju, svrha ovoga rada je, putem istraživanja domaćih i stranih autora, prikazati koji motivi prevladavaju u odluci za postajanjem udomitelja pri čemu je najčešća podjela na motive intrinzične i ekstrinzične naravi. Nadalje, prikazati koji su izvori podrške udomiteljima počevši od formalne do neformalne kako bi udomitelji bili svjesni kome se mogu obratiti ukoliko ne znaju kako savladati određenu situaciju u vezi udomljenog djeteta. Važno je isto tako prikazati i na koje poteškoće i prepreke udomitelji nailaze što može poslužiti nadležnim službama kao podloga za poboljšanje i unaprjeđenje udomiteljstva, ali uvijek imati na umu koje su dobre strane kako bi to bio jedan od motiva za postajanjem, ali i zadržavanjem u ulozi udomitelja.Considering the reduction of the number of foster families and the importance of the child who is being given the opportunity of growing up in family surroundings, the purpose of this paper is, using research of various native and non-native authors, to show which motives prevail when deciding of becoming a foster parent with the largest division of motives of intrinsic and extrinsic nature. Furthermore, the goal is to show the sources of support for the foster parents starting with formal and ending with non-formal ones so that the foster parents would know whom to turn in case they don't know how to handle a certain situation involving the foster child. It is also of great importance to show the difficulties and obstacles the foster parents can face with, which can help the competent authorities as a groundwork for improvement and advancement of the foster care, but it's also crucial to be aware of the good sides of fostering in order for that to be one of the motives for not only becoming but also staying in the role of a foster parent