A Lithuania without children’s homes. Lithuania, which has set such a goal, is having more and more children live with foster parents and families – in such cases, the child lives in a family environment. However, more than a thousand children still live in institutions, most of them in community care homes considered to be the best form of institutional care.
In 2014, institutional care reform was launched, and the hope was that by 2020, there would be no more children left in large institutions. The main critique is that all of a child’s needs are not met in institutions, the child grows up in an unnatural, non-family environment, and does not acquire the necessary life skills.
Although this goal has not yet been achieved, there are fewer and fewer children living in institutions – they now live in foster families, where there are several children together and permanent staff care for them. This is more similar to real family life. As an alternative to large institutions, community-based care homes, which typically have up to six children, are more individualised.
Care for 15 children
Life in a foster family is considered the best form of care. Rasa Stasiškė, who lives in Jonava, a town of around 26,000 people in central Lithuania, has been caring for children for the past eight years.
During this time, she has taken care of 15 children: “We took the first boy into permanent care as a brother to my daughters, and then it so happened that we took care of one child after another temporarily. Maybe 15 children passed through my home, and I am currently raising eight children,” she tells LRT.lt.
When her youngest daughter turned 15, the family decided to take in a boy from a children’s home. Stasiškė says it was not easy at first − she needed to find a connection with the children, and once she developed attachment to them, it was not easy to return them to their parents.
But she is convinced that raising a child in a family makes it easier for them to connect and gain confidence. Together with her foster children, Stasiškė travels and goes to country resorts or swimming pools,
“Even going to a café is a form of entertainment for the children − it’s not the same as going to jump on some trampolines, as is the case with care homes when they have a leisure day,” she says.
When the child returns to live with their parents, their relationship with Stasiškė does not break off − she meets with many families, stays in touch with them, and, if necessary, gives advice or helps in any way she can. This kind of communication is a great help to the children and their families.
Creating family life
In Lithuania, children who have lost parental care can live in foster families, where their daily lives can feel just like in a normal family. Several children live together, and they are taken care of by permanent caregivers. In such a family, the caregivers do not change, there is a lot of stability, and it is easier to establish close relationships.
In the SOS Children’s Village, we are met by Vilma Masiukevičienė, and as soon as we enter the house, we feel like we’re in a real home.
It does not in any way resemble a care institution − it is a real home for the children. Here, they have their own rooms and like all families, share the kitchen, bathroom and spend time together in the living room. On the walls are photographs, drawings by the children, and toys are placed on the shelves.
SOS staff live in one room of the house − four permanent workers live in shifts together with the children, they take them to school or kindergarten, accompany them to the doctor, shop together, and live a family life.
“Our work is also a way of life. The day begins as in any other family: morning, waking up, breakfast. Some go to school during their time here, others − to kindergarten,” says Masiukevičienė.
Her workday begins early in the morning and ends after a 24-hour shift. Then she is replaced by another SOS caregiver. Social worker Masiukevičienė lives around the clock with five children − she escorts them to school or kindergarten, picks them up at the end of the day. On the way home they stop at a playground and they also make dinner together.
“Everything is like in a family, just as you would do with your own children. If we need to, we go shopping, the little ones sometimes want me to give them the money so that they can pay the cashier. They pay, take the change and the receipt. Children see and observe everything − how we behave, so do they, especially the little ones. If there is a misunderstanding at a polyclinic, the children watch how I act, how I talk,” she says.
Leading on the road of life
Living in such an environment, children experience family life, become independent, and gain various skills. Masiukevičienė can testify to the benefits of a family for children − she has been working in childcare for 13 years, so some children grew up with her.
“I took one girl to kindergarten, then to first grade, and finally, when she reached 18, I accompanied her to a youth home,” shares the SOS employee.
Accompanying them on the road of life and maintaining close contact with the children is very important − according to Masiukevičienė, children want attention, they want to be hugged and held. Sometimes at care homes, children do not even know what tea they like, while in a family, they observe daily chores from up close.
“Together we make food, bake cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts during holidays. Everything happens as it would in a family: we go to the cinema, eat popcorn, sometimes, we order pizza. It’s not that we don’t allow anything. Together we go to buy clothes − maybe I sometimes buy clothes for the little ones on my own, but with the older children we always go shopping together so that they can express their opinion,” she says.
Children carry such experiences into the rest of their lives – they talk about them to the SOS staff and share stories. At the age of 18, a child is not left to fend on their own − if they continue their education, the young person can live in a youth home, receive additional help with or without accommodation, a coordinator can help overcome certain difficulties, find a job, or arrange documents.
Young people who have reached the age of 18 are provided with help to start their independent living, but informal communication with SOS staff continues.
“One of the girls I cared for now has her own baby, so I like to say that I already have a granddaughter,” Masiukevičienė smiles.
In an institution − no stability or forming relationships
Guardianship expert Rugilė Ladauskienė tells LRT.lt that this year should be the last for large childcare institutions – the plan is that from January 1 the doors of such institutions will close for good.
According to Ladauskienė, the basic needs of children are met in both families and large care homes. However, the situation is different when it comes to the emotional and social needs of the child.
“A child living in an institution lives in a world different from that of other people. The child returns home to an artificially formed group of children, they are cared for by people whose work is to do so,” Ladauskienė explains.
For example, she says, a child has to create a relationship with an employee and trust them. But when they take paternity or maternity leave or change jobs, social ties break down.
In a large institution, life is different than at a real home. As a result, children usually do not learn how to deal with everyday things. Ladauskienė gives an example of locking the door − it took a while for a child living in a foster family before they became accustomed to locking the house’s front door because they simply did not have to do it in the institution.
The guardianship expert also tells that in the institution children do not experience stability, so lack of permanence and close relationships strongly affects the child’s psyche: “Constancy, relationships, and trust are three things that heal the psyche and allow one to survive loss and trauma.”
According to the guardianship expert, various studies show that children living in institutions are subsequently more likely to experience unemployment and homelessness, start their sexual life earlier, and become pregnant earlier. Meanwhile, living in a family can help reduce such risks.
More children live in family environment
Agnė Marčiukaitienė, head of the Division at the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, emphasises that in recent years, the attitudes of society towards childcare are rapidly changing.
According to the latest data, 1,338 children live in institutions, 93 of whom come from Ukraine, while 853 children are growing up in community care homes. There are 4,931 children in foster families, of whom 785 are from Ukraine. There are 255 children in families, and 248 children are raised in a family environment under the supervision of on-call guardians.
Although the objective of the absence of guardianship institutions in Lithuania has not yet been achieved, the Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service states that the number of children in care institutions is steadily decreasing. For example, 3,185 children were in institutional care at the end of 2016 and only 1,656 in 2020.
“It is important to note that already in the first half year of the reform of the Child Rights Protection System the number of children relocated from families across Lithuania has decreased more than three times and continues to drop steadily as the total number of children in care decreases,” says Marčiukaitienė.
Family provides safety
According to the representative of the Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, the feeling of physical and emotional security is the basic need of a child, and it can be best fulfilled in a family environment.
“A family, an adult person can ensure stability and security for a child who has had traumatic experiences. Can help them accept all kinds of emotions and different behaviours, by knowing that they are the consequences of the child’s previous experiences,” says Marčiukaitienė.
According to her, if children do not have guardians, they are accommodated in community care homes, and such care homes create an environment closer to that of a family than in institutions. Here children live several to a room, most often with brothers and sisters, their independence is more encouraged, and they establish a safe connection with the employees who care for them, something that is very important for the child.
“In such an environment, the individual needs of the child are more appreciated and addressed, more quality attention is paid to the child, their opinion is heard, and the issues affecting them are discussed,” notes Marčiukaitienė.
The goal has not yet been achieved
Although more and more children live outside of institutions, Lithuania has not yet achieved its goal. Foster parent Stasiškė says that financial aspects are not the main reason why this is the case. According to her, such work is not for everyone, and there are cases when caregivers realise that it is too difficult for them.
Some caregivers find it hardest to communicate properly with the child, there may be conflicts and difficulties withstanding tensions. In such a situation, the decision to do this kind of work may be challenged by the family members of the foster parents.
SOS employee Masiukevičienė considers whether the reorganisation of care institutions is still hampered by strong resistance from communities when people do not want foster children living in the neighbourhood.
“Our society still needs to be educated. When we moved here two years ago, our neighbours were suspicious of us, they wouldn’t even greet us on the street. If people don’t see foster children in real life, they think the kids will break something, vandalise the neighbourhood,” says Masiukevičienė.
It takes time to make a decision
According to guardianship expert Ladauskienė, interviews with foster parents show that people who are prone to civic initiatives are the ones who want to help others and are willing to foster children.
“As a rule, people do not base the decision to become foster parents on their emotions – they need to complete training, and it takes time for a person to make this decision. [...] Sometimes it takes 10−20 years for people to take this step and decide to foster, to raise a human being,” says Ladauskienė.
She adds that in some cases, such a solution is not supported by their families and friends, which also hinders becoming foster parents: “It is a big decision. People think a lot about whether they will be able to, whether their resources will be sufficient, or if they live the right lifestyle. Future foster parents need to ask and answer a lot of questions first.”
Marčiukaitienė, a representative of the Child Rights Protection Service, says that there is currently a lack of permanent and on-call foster parents in Lithuania.
“Some children who have lost parental care may have health issues and require special attention and care. Families are more open and more likely to accept younger children and have concerns about adolescents. Children in children’s homes are mostly over the age of seven or teenagers. And last but not least, there are also insufficient efforts by some municipalities to find and motivate foster parents,” says Marčiukaitienė.
The article was written in collaboration with Transitions as part of a programme to support Solutions Journalism. This did not affect the content of the article.
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