.. 
3 
13*h 
Congress of the Republic) 
1 r-cq'- Regular Session 
) 
the Philippines 
) 
S E N A T  
0 5. 
introduced by Senator Aquilino 
entei, Jr. 
EXPLANTORY 
Children deserve to be given utmost protection against all forms 
of abuse, neglect and exploitation. Their rights must be respected 
and defended, and all efforts must be exerted in order to eliminate all 
conditions prejudicial to their full development. 
This bill seeks to introduce planned substitute parental care by 
foster families to children whose biological parents cannot take care 
of them, either temporarily or permanently. Under this proposed 
legislation, a permanency plan for the best interest of the child shall 
be accomplished, and thereafter, the placement of the child with the 
foster family will be undertaken. 
Foster families shall undergo training on the care and 
management of children. Foster families may likewise adopt their 
foster children provided they meet the requirements set forth by this 
proposed law. 
Support services are given to biological parents through 
counseling and training on child caring and parenting. Foster parent 
shall likewise be entitled to tax deduction from hidher gross income 
for every foster child. The foster child on the other hand, shall be 
entitled to full care and support, including the provision of hidher 
basic needs. 
Exploited, abused and neglected children are given substitute 
parenting so that they will feel the love and care of the family that will 
help them face a brighter future. 
/ 
The passage of this bill is therefore earnestly requested. 


13th Congress of the Republic 
) 
of the Philippines 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
. .  
R 
S E N A T  
S. No. 
Introduced by Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. 
TO STRENGTHEN AND PROP 
E FOSTER CARE FOR 
ABANDONED, NEGLECTED AND 
HILDREN WITH 
SPECIAL NEEDS, PROVIDI 
ONS THEREFOR 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
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 
2004." 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to provide every abused, neglected, surrendered, dependent and 
abandoned child with an alternative family that will provide such child with 
love and care as well as opportunities for growth and development. The State 
shall guarantee that all the rights of the child enumerated under Article 3 of P.D. 
No. 603 titled: "The Child and Youth Welfare Code,'as amended" and the rights, 
Pound under the 'Convention on the Rights of the Child" particularly those 
enumerated in Article 20, as adopted by the General Assembly of the United 


Nations on November 20, 1989, of which the Philippines is a signatory, shall be 
observed. 
Recognizing this, the State shall systematize and enhance foster caring in 
the country. Towards this end, the State shall ensure that foster families promote 
and motivate the foster child to relate with his/her biological or adoptive family, 
as the case may be, and shall provide the wholesome atmosphere to encourage 
bonding. 
The State shall also protect the rights of the biological child of foster 
families and ensure that in no case shall he/she be disadvantaged as a result of 
the placement of a foster child. 
SEG. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms are 
defined as: 
a) "Child" refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age, or one who 
is 18 years of age and above who is unable to fully take care of 
him/ herself 
from 
abuse, 
neglect, 
cruelty, 
exploitation 
or 
discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition. 
b) "Foster care" refers to provision of planned substitute parental care to a 
child by a foster family, as determined in Article I1 of this Act, licensed 
by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) when 
his/her biological parents are unable to care for himlher temporarily 
or permanently. 
c) "Foster family" refers to a family or person/ s, duly licensed by DSWD, 
who provide foster care to a child placed with them/him/her for 
planned, goal-directed services which will help realize the Permanent 
life plan of the child. 
A foster family may either be one of the following: 


1) Regular family-refers to a foster family, which receives material 
provisions from the agency in order to help meet the basic needs of 
the child. 
2) Volunteer family-refers to a foster family, which does not receive 
any material provision or incentive from the agency. 
d) llAgency" refers to the D S W  or licensed and accredited child- 
placement institutions tasked to implement the foster care program. 
e) "Biological parents" refer to birth parents. 
f) "Matching" refers to the judicious pairing of a child with a family based 
on the former's needs and in his/her best interest, as well as the 
capability and commitment of the latter. 
g) "Placement" refers to the physical transfer of the child with the foster 
family. 
h) "Permanency Plan" refers to the best plan arrived at by the Social 
Worker with the participation of the child, if applicable, and other 
significant persons/agencies for the child's best welfare and interest. 
This shall include activities for the child, foster family and the 
biological parents, if available, and shall have a specific time frame 
until such time a permanent placement is arrived at. 
i) "Social Worker" refers to the registered Social Worker of an Agency. 
j) 
"Foster Placement Authority" (FPA) refers to the document, issued by the 
DSWD, authorizing foster care. 
ARTICLE II 
ELIGIBILITY AND PROCEDURES 


. Who May be 
care: 
a) A child as defined 
Fostered. - The following may benefit from foster 
n Article I, Section 3(a) of this Act; 
b) A child who is either abandoned, neglected or orphaned; 
c) A child in need of special protection due to any of the following 
conditions and circumstances: 
i) When his/her parents/guardians are in crisis which render 
him/ her temporarily or permanently incapable of adequately 
providing care for him/her; 
ii) W e n  his/her parents/ guardians are known to be inflicting 
physical or sexual abuse; 
iii) When he/she is a victim of commercial sexual exploitation; 
iv) When he/ she has emotional and psychological difficulties; 
v) m e n  he/she is a affected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus 
(HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS); 
vi) When the child has committed a minor offense and released on 
recognizance or on custody supervision but whose family or 
relatives 
are 
not 
capable 
of 
providing 
him/her 
adequate/ appropriate care. 
d) A child matched for adoption. 
SEC. 5. Who May Foster. - The kins or relatives of the foster child, if 
willing and available, become the priority prospective foster family. All 
applicants, including the kins or relatives of the foster child, must meet all the 
following qualifications: 
a) Shall be at least 25 years of age and shall have a genuine interest in 
parenting a related or non-related child. 


b) May either be married, widowed, separated or single. Provided, That 
single applicants must be able to provide a family atmosphere for the 
child. 
c) Must have a healthy and harmonious relationship with each family 
member. 
d) Must have good moral character, emotional maturity, be physically fit 
and financially able to provide for the family’s needs. 
e) Must be willing to be trained to hone their knowledge, attitude and 
skills in caring for children. 
Alien applicants must have at least 1 year residency in the Philippines and 
possess all the qualifications stated above. 
SEC. 6. General Procedures. -The following shall be observed in the foster 
care of the child: 
a) Pre-Placement 
i) Child 
1) A Permanency Plan for the best interest of the child shall be 
accomplished at each placement; 
2) Placement shall be done immediately as soon as the 
Permanency Plan is approved even as efforts are undertaken to 
strengthen his/ her biological family; 
3) Placement shall be based on proper matching; 
4) Preparation for placement shall be consistent with the child’s 
age, understanding and emotional maturity. The child shall be 
helped to understand what foster care means and the reason for 
it; 


5) No child shall be placed with a foster family that is not licensed 
except in case of an emergency, but in which case, evaluation 
and licensing shall be done not later than one week. 
ii) Foster Family 
1) A thorough study necessary to determine the motivations, 
capacities and potentials for development of families to be 
licensed shall be made by the Agency, and be used as the basis 
for the issuance of license; 
2) After being licensed, foster families shall undergo periodic 
training on the understanding and management of children to 
enhance and develop parenting capability; 
3) Information on the child shall be shared, only when necessary, 
to help foster families understand and develop plans for the 
child; 
4) A maximum number of two (2) children under 2 years of age or 
three (3) older children shall be placed with a foster family at 
any given time, or as determined by the Agency, except where 
siblings have to be together in one foster family. 
iii) Foster Care Committee. For purposes of this Act, a Foster Care 
Committee (FCC) shall be formed to decide on cases affecting the 
child's welfare. It shall be a complementary partnership among the 
Agencies, foster families, and biological families, if available, and 
shall include, as far as practicable, professionals from relevant 
fields such as psychology, health, education, medicine and law. 
b) Placement 


i) The FFA shall be prepared by the concerned Agency and approved 
by the DSWD; 
ii) After the child has been placed with his/her foster family, the 
Social Worker shall continue to provide the necessary assistance to 
the child and the foster family; 
iii) No transfer of a child to another foster family or residential 
institution/facility shall be authorized except after the FCC has 
convened and approved such. 
c) Post Placement. In case of injury or death of a foster child, or if he/she 
runs away or get lost, such shall be reported immediately to the 
Agency, which, in turn, shall report the same to the nearest DSWD 
field office. The Agency shall submit an incidental report together with 
the medical and death certificate, as the case may be, to the nearest 
DSWD field office. 
d) Termination of Placement 
i) Termination of placement shall be done by the Agency, upon the 
recommendation of the Social Worker, on any of the following 
grounds: reunion of the child with his/ her biological family; 
adoption; referral to another foster family or residential 
I 
~ 
institution/facility; and death of the child; 
ii) After the reunion of the child with his/her biological family, 
adoption or referral to another foster family or residential 
institution/facility, the Social Worker shall be available to ensure 
the 
child’s 
reintegration 
and 
adjustment 
to 
his/her 
biological/ adoptive/ foster family; 


iii) The biological/adoptive/foster family shall be provided with 
counseling to enable them to understand and cope with the child’s 
adjustment problem to his/ her environment. 
e) Revocation of license. The DSWD can revoke the license of a foster 
family after a thorough study is conducted and recommendation 
thereof is made by the concerned Agency. In cases of dispute on the 
matter between the Agency concerned and the DSWD, the FCC, 
together with a representative from the DSWD-Central Office, shall be 
convened to settle such disagreement. 
ARTICLE I11 
ADOPTION OF A FOSTER CHILD 
SEC. 7. Colzditions. -A foster family may adopt their/ is/her foster child. 
The following conditions shall be observed in the adoption of the foster child by 
the foster family: 
a) The foster family must have all the qualifications as provided for by 
Republic Act No. 8552, otherwise known as the Domestic Adoption 
Act of 1998, or Republic Act No. 8043 otherwise known as Inter- 
Country Adoption Act of 1995, as the case may be. 
b) The trial custody, as required in adoption, may be waived. Provided, 
That a harmonious relationship exists between the foster child and 
his/her foster family. 
c) The procedure for adoption, for purposes of this Act, shall be governed 
by Republic Act No.8552 or Republic Act No. 8043, as the case may be. 
ARTICLE IV 
SUPPORT SERVICES 


SEC. 8. Support Services. - Support services shall be made available to the 
following: 
a) Biological parents 
i) Counseling shall be provided to parents to help them understand 
foster care and prepare them for eventual reunion with the child. 
ii) Training on child-caring and child-protecting skills shall be 
provided to biological parents to improve their knowledge, attitude 
and skills in parenting. 
b) Foster family 
i) A foster parent shall be accorded privilege under the National 
Internal Revenue Code in so far as having dependents are 
concerned. Provided, That this privilege shall be claimed by only 
one of the spouses in the case of married foster parents. Provided, 
fkrther That, this privilege shall be allowed in full if the period of 
foster care is at least six (6) months. Provided, finally, That if the 
period of foster care is less than 6 months but more than two 2 
months, the amount deductible from gross income shall be pro- 
rated. 
ii) Foster families. shall be provided training to upgrade their 
knowledge and skills on childcare, development and protection. 
c) Foster child. He/she shall be entitled to full care and support, 
including but not limited to, counseling and supplies in the form of 
milk, medicines, feeding paraphernalia, clothing and school supplies, 
as needed. 
ARTICLE V 


SEC. 9. Penalties. - Any person/s caring for a child, whether licensed or 
without a license as foster family, found to be committing acts of neglect, abuse, 
cruelty or exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to the child’s 
development or has under his/her custody two or more children without any 
legal basis or without being licensed to act as a foster family shall be penalized in 
accordance with RA 7610, otherwise known as An Act Providing for Stronger 
Deterrence and Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and 
Discrimination, Providing for its Violation, and for Other Purposes. 
ARTICLE VI 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. 
- The DSWD, in 
consultation with accredited child-caring institutions and other related 
organizations, is hereby mandated to prepare and draft the implementing rules 
and regulations to operationalize the provisions of this Act, within six 
(6) 
months from its effectivity. 
SEC. 11. Appropriations. - 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 thirty 
million pesos (P30,000,000), which shall include among others, the amount for 
monthly 
assistance 
to 
regular 
families 
and 
emergency 
fund 
for 
medical/ hospitalization needs of the child, shall be allocated for the first year of 


" 
its implementation. Such sum shall be included in the allocation for child-related 
programs of the DSWD. 
SEC. 12. 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. 
SEC. 13. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected hereby shall remain valid 
and subsisting. 
SEC. 14. Efsectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its complete publication in any national newspaper of general 
circulation or in the Official Gazette. 
Approved,