Until recently, for a child who had to be separated from his/her biological family there was no other source of protection than institutionalization, with all the psychological and emotional deficits it implied. Precisely in order to mitigate these deficits, the figure of the foster family appeared in an attempt to base the psycho-emotional development of these children on the personal bounds which define family cohesion. But to talk about fostering is to talk about temporality, contact and return to the biological family, training and selection of the foster family... We will talk about it in the following article and in the various articles elaborated by different professionals specialized in this complex subject.
Although the number of foster families has gradually increased in recent years, still much greater is the number of children who remain in children's homes compared with the number of children who have the opportunity of growing up in a family environment. The latter no doubt repairs two important deficits: one being that of the child's biological family, unable, due to various problems, to offer the necessary care to their children, and the other concerning the very same institutionalization (little space for privacy, for the individual as such, and for the emotional commitment and exclusivity). This does not mean that all children who are in children's homes should go to foster families. These two patterns of children's protection have to coexist necessarily since, while for one specific child the best thing may be is his/her integration in a family unit, for another the best thing may be to remain in a small children's home; it always depends on the child's character, on his/her specific situation, on the relationship he/she keeps with his/her biological family, etc. However, it is obvious that many of the children who remain in children's homes could go to live with foster families and that it would be much more positive for their development at all levels. Indeed, the only requirement is that the number of families prepared to foster one of these little children for whom life has not been at all easy should increase substantially.