Iraq 🇮🇶

Organisation: Step-Iraq

🟦 Background: Step_Iraq, supported by Step_UK, had no experience of delivering a foster care programme but wanted to bring this to Kurdistan-Iraq, where previously children at risk were placed into children’s homes. Supported by the Kurdish-Iraq government, they were tasked with creating and establishing the first foster care programme in the region. 

🟨 Their goal:  To create a foster care programme in Kurdistan-Iraq. 

🟩 Main Services: 

• Advocacy and Awareness Workshops; 
• UK exchange Visit;
• Foster Care Training; 
• Case Management consultancy and training for foster care, care planning,  reunification (children returning to their biological parents) and kinship care (children moving to extended family members). 
• Review of Standards of Practice in Foster Care. 
• Protective Behaviours to support foster care provide therapeutic and trauma-informed care. 

🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC provided two workshops over two years to introduce the idea of foster care and why it can offer a better alternative to children’s homes. The aim here was to convince all government agencies and staff involved of the importance of piloting foster care. 

SFAC then provided online and in person consultation and training to create the case management systems needed for all their services and stages of foster care (recruitment, assessment, training, monitoring, reviewing, supporting), matching children and carers, care planning, and making decisions about children returning to family (biological parents or extended family). 

This included a UK exchange for Kurdish-Iraq officials to see foster care in action, understand how family courts decided when to use foster care and how foster carers were trained, assessed, reviewed and monitored. This included talks to carers, staff involved and judges/lawyers. This was important to get the government and judiciary to agree to the pilot. 

Once established, SFAC was then asked to review standards of practice five years later and make recommendations for improvements as well as identify strengths. 

Protective behaviours training was identified from the review to help carers and children meet their emotional and therapeutic needs. 

SFAC has trained around 15 Step_Iraq and government representatives alongside 8 who have visited the UK in exchanges. 

🟩 Outcome: Agreement was reached for a foster care pilot in Kurdistan-Iraq. 

Step_Iraq established the first foster care programme with the Kurdish-Iraq government that has been ongoing since 2018. 

There are now been over 25 children in foster care with plans to establish more foster care programmes from 2026. 

🗝️ Impact: Foster care programme has become established and supported by the Kurdish-Iraq government, which is now keen on expanding its scale to see more children experience family life who cannot live safely within their biological family.

‘SFAC has been invaluable and without them foster care would not have happened. They have trained us, equipped us, guided us, challenged us, supported us, and been there at all times to provide assistance sometimes on the end of the phone in a crisis. In 2023 SFAC able to conduct a desk review evaluation of case management. which was challenging,  positive and encouraged our Board to continue to invest in the work we are doing. They have shaped our work, recognised our uniqueness and helped us create a family for children.’

Rachel Newton – Lead

📅 Years Active:  2008 ongoing