The number of foster families has doubled in Luxembourg
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A joint report by the Minister of Education, Claude Meisch, and the Minister of Justice, Elisabeth Margue, describes the current state of the support system for minors in Luxembourg. The focus is on foster families and support for children in difficult life situations.
The number of foster families in Luxembourg has increased significantly in recent years, from 221 families in 2015 to 468 in 2024. At the same time, the number of children placed in foster care has varied, reaching a peak of 552 children in 2023. This shows the growing demand for family-type support compared to institutional care.
The report emphasises that the government does not keep systematic records of the length of time children stay in foster families or institutions. In order to analyse this data, it is necessary to manually check each case for the last five years. A similar problem is observed with tracking the return of children to biological families.
One of the Government's key initiatives is draft law No. 7994, which provides for the establishment of a specialised centre, Maison de l'accueil en famille. Its tasks include training foster parents and organising professional development programmes. Mandatory training for foster families is at least 12 hours per year, as well as regular meetings with curatorial services.
In 2024, a variety of institutions were in operation, including centres for children under 3 years of age, social boarding schools and centres for unaccompanied minors. The occupancy rate of the institutions was often above 90%, indicating a high load on the system. For example, centres for infants were 96.95% full, and centres for migrant minors were almost 100% full.
Nationally, the emphasis is on child protection and family participation in decision-making. Key elements of the SOP (Solution-Oriented Pedagogy) methodology are maintaining stable relationships, developing emotional resilience and helping to resolve crisis situations. Much attention is paid to strengthening parental competences and supporting positive interaction between adults and children.
Despite the positive changes, the report raises important questions about the quality of monitoring of the system. The lack of accurate data on the timing of placement and the success of reintegration of children into biological families makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the reforms. The government aims to improve placement conditions and create a more flexible system of assistance, which requires the introduction of new standards and monitoring mechanisms.
