Mockingbird

Every child has the right to a safe home in which to grow up happily. Unfortunately, approximately 23,000 children in the Netherlands stay in a foster family every year because they (temporarily) cannot live with their parents. Foster parents are committed to these children by including them in their family. This often goes well, but sometimes the foster families encounter problems and support is needed. They need practical support, education, contact with other foster parents and want to be able to refuel every now and then.

In 2018, 28% of foster care placements were terminated prematurely. A frequently mentioned reason for this is the lack of support.

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Beautiful but often also challenging

A loving environment to grow up in: every child deserves that. Sometimes children cannot live with their parents (temporarily). Foster care can offer a solution. Every year, more than 20,000 children in the Netherlands stay with foster families.

Foster care is wonderful, but often very challenging for everyone involved. Foster families sometimes encounter problems that require support. This includes practical help, education, contact with other foster children and foster parents, and opportunities to recharge. Children in foster care still move around too often. This is partly because foster families end their care prematurely, often because they find it too difficult and experience too little support. These transfers have a profound impact on the lives of everyone involved, especially the children.

What is Mockingbird?

What if foster families weren't alone? What if they could rely on a support group of foster families around them?

That's Mockingbird. Foster families living near each other form a network, always with an experienced foster family at the center (foster family hub). By connecting foster families, they become stronger and are more successful in providing a loving and stable environment for foster children. The biological parents of foster children and the biological children of foster parents also play an important role in Mockingbird. And the foster children themselves? Thanks to Mockingbird, they know they're not alone. They make friends and have fun with other children going through the same things, so they don't have to explain anything to them. They can always turn to the other families in the network for a chat, a game, or a sleepover.

Mockingbird is there for foster children and their parents. This way, more children have a stable and loving environment to grow up.

For more information, visitthe Mockingbird website.

Mockingbird was brought to the Netherlands in 2021 by organizations including Kinderpostzegels (Children's Stamps), and is implemented by Steun Foster Care. The program is co-funded by the National Postcode Lottery and the Oranje Fonds.