The Flemish Centre for Adoption gave Portugal a positive assessment for intercountry adoption in 2023. However, there are quite a few questions to be asked about the Portuguese childcare system and the reason why many are offered for adoption abroad. It seems that especially children with care needs are no longer given a place.
'Our country has a long tradition of residential care,' says Guida Mendes Bernardo, director of SOS Children's Villages in Portugal. 'That is still ingrained, especially in the interior. There is a perception that children, especially those growing up in poverty, are better placed in a facility than staying with their parents, because that would give the child more opportunities.'
In 2023, according to the Portuguese government, 6,183 children and young people were placed in care, compared to 263 in foster care. This represents 4% of placements. However, experts agree that a foster family is better for a child than a care facility. "We are concerned about how heavily the Portuguese system relies on residential care," warns Nigel Cantwell, an international expert in child protection. He writes this in an analysis by the International Social Service (ISS), an international network of NGOs focusing on children's rights and safety. This analysis was commissioned by the Flemish Centre for Adoption (VCA) in order to decide whether adoptions from Portugal, and a number of other countries, will remain possible in the future.
In response to the UN Guidelines for Child Protection, the southern European country passed a law in December 2023 that requires all large facilities to transform to a smaller, family-oriented model. The new rules stipulate, among other things, that centres may house a maximum of 15 children per ward, and that each child must have a trajectory supervisor . That transition is now in full swing.
Foster care in its infancy
