Starting point and vision of OWG

The starting point and vision of Nidos is that a child [1] can best be taken care of within a culture family. For this purpose, Nidos has developed the ‘reception and accommodation in the framework of a foster family’ [‘Opvang en Wonen in Gezinsverband (OWG)’]. The need for care within a family is not due to a personal problem or development problem, but on the basis of the need for safe care. With care within a family, children/youngsters are offered maximum development opportunities, on the basis of safety and prospects. These children are given the scope to develop – on the basis of their own culture, and if this is not possible in any case with a great deal of respect for their own culture – towards their own individual personality and independence, and to work on an own network of contact. Precisely in the natural environment of the family, the vulnerable child can enter into a sustainable personal relationship, which can also continue after the age of 18. Within this relation, tailor-made support can often be offered, both in the case of an ongoing stay in the Netherlands and return to the country of origin in question. This preference for care within a family situation fits with international treaties such as the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children and current developments in youth care.

To become a fosterfamily

Are you interested in foster parenting? Please click here for more information.

[1] When we refer to children, we also mean youngsters up to the age of 18.