AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN AND PROPAGATE FOSTER CARE AND TO PROVIDE FUNDS THEREFOR

Fifteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-fifth day of July, two thousand eleven.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10165       June 11, 2012

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN AND PROPAGATE FOSTER CARE AND TO PROVIDE FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Title. – This Act shall be known as the "Foster Care Act of 2012."

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – Article XV of the Constitution provides that the State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation or other conditions prejudicial to their development.

It is hereby declared the policy of the State to provide every child who is neglected, abused, surrendered, dependent, abandoned, under sociocultural difficulties, or with special needs with an alternative family that will provide love and care as well as opportunities for growth and development.

The State shall guarantee that all the lights of the child enumerated under Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as "The Child and Youth Welfare Code", as amended, and the rights found under Article 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child shall be observed.

The State recognizes that in most cases, a child will benefit more from foster care than institutional care. Towards this end, the State shall systematize and enhance the foster care program in the country. It shall ensure that the foster family shall provide a wholesome atmosphere to the foster child. Further to this end, the State recognizes that foster care is an important step towards the child’s return and reintegration to his biological parents or placement with an adoptive family.

The State shall also protect the rights of the biological child of the foster family and ensure that in no case shall the child be disadvantaged as a result of the placement of a foster child.

In all cases, the child’s right to health shall be upheld and protected.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the following terms are defined:

ARTICLE II
ELIGIBILITY

Section 4. Who May Be Placed Under Foster Care. – The following may be placed in foster care:

Provided, That in the case of (b), (c), (f), (h), (i), and (j), the child must have no family willing and capable of caring and providing for him.

Section 5. Who May Be a Foster Parent. – An applicant who meets all of the following qualifications may be a foster parent:

Provided, That in determining who is the best suited foster parent, the relatives of the child shall be given priority, so long as they meet the above qualifications: Provided, further, That an alien possessing the above qualifications and who has resided in the Philippines for at least twelve (12) continuous months and maintains such residence until the termination of placement by the DSWD or expiration of the foster family license, may qualify as a foster parent.

ARTICLE III
PARENTAL AUTHORITY OF FOSTER PARENTS

Section 6. Parental Authority of a Foster Parent. – Foster parents shall have the rights, duties and liabilities of persons exercising substitute parental authority, as may be provided under the Family Code over the children under their foster care.

Section 7. Limitations on Parental Authority of Foster Parents. – Foster parents shall only have the rights of a person with special parental authority to discipline the foster children as defined under Section 233 of the Family Code, insofar as it prohibits the infliction of corporal punishment upon the child.

ARTICLE IV
PROCEDURE

Section 8. Recruitment and Development of Foster Parents. – To recruit applications for foster care, the DSWD shall reach out to various communities and LGUs and work preferably with the Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC).

Section 9. Submission of Home Study Report. – The social worker shall make a detailed Home Study Report of an applicant’s background and circumstances, carried out in a series of planned visits and interviews, in order to determine if the applicant meets the basic requirements for foster care and is suitable to become a foster parent.

Section 10. Issuance of License. – The DSWD shall issue a Foster Family Care License based on the Home Study Report submitted by the agency to determine the motivations, capacities and potentials for development of applicants. The license is renewable every three (3) years unless earlier revoked by the DSWD.

Section 11. Matching. – Matching shall be done by the agency only after the child case study and the home study have been conducted, save for exceptions to be determined by the DSWD, taking into consideration the best interests of the child.

The child case study report shall establish the needs of the child for consideration in the selection of the foster parent. Likewise, the Home Study Report shall establish said foster parent’s capacity and resources to provide a safe, secure and losing home to the child.

Section 12. Placement. – The physical transfer of the child to the foster parent shall be allowed only after the FPA has been issued, save for exceptions to be determined by the DSWD, taking into consideration the best interest of the child.

Section 13. Supervision of Foster Placement. – Supervised foster placement begins as soon as the foster parent receives the child into his care. During the foster placement, the social worker shall conduct regular home visits to monitor the child’s adjustment in the foster home and shall submit progress reports to the DSWD.

In case of incident, injury or death of a foster child, or if he runs away or gets lost, such case shall be reported immediately to the agency, which, in turn, shall immediately report the same to the DSWD.

Section 14. Termination of Placement. – Termination of placement shall be done by the DSWD, upon recommendation of the agency, on the following grounds:

Provided, That in the case of (f), the foster child, with the assistance of a registered social worker, shall have the option to apply for termination of placement.

ARTICLE V
LONG-TERM FOSTER PLACEMENT

Section 15. Long-Term Foster Placement Authority. – If a child has been under the care of a foster parent for a period of at least seven (7) years, the said foster parent may apply for Long-Term Foster Placement Authority (LTFPA), subject to the following conditions:

LTFPA grants the foster parent custody over the foster child without the requirement of the eventuality of adoption of the latter by the former. During this period, the foster child shall enjoy the rights of a child under Article 3 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code, and under other laws: Provided, That there shall be no mandatory rights of succession in favor of the foster child.

Section 16. Long-Term Foster Care Commitment. – Taking into consideration the stability and best interest of the foster child, a foster parent, who unilaterally terminates the LTFPA before the foster child reaches the age of majority or finishes tertiary education, shall make provisions for the education and basic needs of the foster child, in accordance with the standards in which the child has been raised or has become accustomed to, within the said period: Provided, That the faster parent has the means to support the foster child in keeping with the financial capacity of the family.

ARTICLE VI
ADOPTION OF A FOSTER CHILD

Section 17. Conditions. – A foster parent may adopt his foster child subject to the following conditions:

ARTICLE VII
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Section 18. Role of Local Government Units (LGUs). – LGUs shall promote the foster care system in their respective territorial jurisdictions.

Section 19. Funding. – In accordance with the Local Government Code, LGUs shall primarily be responsible for social welfare services which include foster care programs. However, the national government shall provide financial support, priority given to third (3 rd), fourth (4 th) and fifth (5 th) class municipalities.

Section 20. Seminars and Trainings. – The DSWD, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), is hereby mandated to develop and provide programs to ensure the awareness and responsiveness of local government officials in the promotion and development of the foster care system in every city, municipality or barangay.

ARTICLE VIII
ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVES

Section 21. Assistance to a Foster Child. –

Section 22. Assistance and Incentives to Foster Parent. –

For purposes of this section, only one (1) foster parent can treat the foster child as a dependent for a particular taxable year. As such, no other parent or foster parent can claim the said child as a dependent for that period.

Section 23. Incentives to Agencies. – Agencies shall be entitled to the following tax incentives:

Section 24. Incentives to Donors. – Donors of an agency shall be entitled to the following:

ARTICLE IX
PENALTIES

Section 25. Penalties. –

ARTICLE X
FINAL PROVISIONS

Section 26. Foster Care Committee. – The Regional Child Welfare Specialist Group of the DSWD shall serve as the Foster Care Committee, which shall have the following functions:

Section 27. Appropriation. – The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and thereafter. An initial amount of Twenty-five million pesos (PhP 25,000,000.00) shall be allocated for the first year of its operation. Such sum shall be intended to support the foster care programs of the DSWD and agencies.

Section 28. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DSWD, as lead agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Council on Welfare of Children (CWC), the DILG and other concerned government agencies, in consultation with agencies are hereby mandated to prepare and draft the IRR to operationalize the provisions of this Act within (3) months from its effectivity.

Section 29. Suppletory Clause. – The provisions of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines and other applicable laws, shall have suppletory application to this Act.

Section 30. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree, issuance, executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule and regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly.

Section 31. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected hereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

Section 32. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette.

Approved,

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2486 and House Bill No. 4481 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on March 21, 2012 .

Approved: JUN 11, 2012

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III
President of the Philippines