Historikk / History

Contents
I. NOFCAs meetings 2000-2010
II. Presidents and secretary
III. NOFCA projects
IV. NOFCA conferences
V. Activities connected to Ifco
VI. The background of NOFCA

I NOFCAs meetings 2000 – 2010
1. 2000: 14.-15. May in Oslo
2. 2000: August in Cork, Ireland – at the Ifco conference
3. 2000: 19.-20. November in Copenhagen
4. 2001: 30. March – 1.april in Stockholm
5. 2002: 16.  February in Jyväskylä
6. 2002: 3. – 5. October in Sätrabruk, Sweden
7. 2002: 6. December in Copenhagen
8. 2003: 18. May in Oslo
9. 2003: 4. October in Helsinki
10. 2004: 15. May in Copenhagen
11. 2005: 12. March in Reykjavik
12. 2005: 18. – 19. November in Helsinborg
13. 2006: 4. June in Bratislava- at the Ifco conference
14. 2006: 25. November in Copenhagen
15. 2007: November in Oslo
16. 2008: 5.-6. September in Nuuk
17. 2009: 9.-10. June in Torshavn
18. 2010: 11.-12. June in Jyväskylä
19. 2010: 28.-30. November 10 years anniversary in Copenhagen, Denmark
20. 2011: 3.-4. June in Reykjavik, Island
21. 2012: 8.-9. June in Sødertelje, Sweden
22. 2013: 31. May-1. June in Oslo, Norway
23. 2014: 5.-6. September in København, Denmark
24. 2015: 28.-30. May in Torshavn, Faroe Island
25. 2016: 2.-4. September in Helsinki, Finland
26. 2017: 19.-21. March in Reykjavik, Island
27. 2018: 25.-26. May in Stockholm, Sweden
28. 2019: 24.-25. May in Bergen, Norway

II Presidents and secretary
2000 -2002:Niels Dueholm, Familieplejen i Danmark
Bodil Grön, Perhehoitolitto, Finland

2002-2004:  Veli- Pekka Isomäki, Perhehoitolitto, Finland
Hege Sundt, Norsk Fosterhjemsforening, Norway

2004-2006:  Hege Sundt, Norsk Fosterhjemsforening, Norway
Kristian Kjellberg, FSF, Sweden

2006-2008: Ingrid Nillson FSF, Sweden
Hildur Sveinsdottir, Barmaverndarstova Island

2008-2011: Soffia Ellertsdottir, Fèlag Fosturforeldra, Island
Hallbjörg Lamhauge Barmaverndarstova Føroya, Faroe Islands

2011-2013: Hallbjörg Lamhauge, Barmaverndarstova Føroya, Faroe Islands
Raili Back, Pesapuu, Finnland

2013-2015: Raili Back, Pesapuu, Finland
Tove M S Wahlstrøm, Norsk Fosterhjemsforening, Norge

2015-2017: Tove M S Wahlstrøm, Norsk Fosterhjemsforening, Norge
Putte Hansen, Lokalforening Nuuk 2018
Malene Abel Brask; FABU, Danmark

2018-2020: Marianne Folden, FABU, Denmark
Christina Jansen Forum for familjevård, Sverige
AnnIka Qvarfordt Forum for familjevård, Sverige

III NOFCA projects
2001: Nordic Standards for Foster care (no money – not fulfilled)

2002-2003: Anbringelsesmønsteret i de nordiske lande.
Written by Rikke Rasmussen; NOFCa members were the steering group. 100 000, – dkr. in economic support from Nordic Ministry council (the report is available www.fosterhjemsforening.no/nofca )

2004: Informasjon, opplæring og oppfølging av nye fosterforeldre i Danmark, Island, Norge og Sverige. Training, support and information for new foster careers
We got 100 000, DKR in economic support from Nordic Council (Nordisk minister råd). Steering committee meeting in Oslo 01.10.04.
Only national reports. Presented at the NOFCA meetings (Reykjavik 2005), and in Fosterhjemskontakt nr. 1/2005.

2006:24. November: Meeting/seminar in Copenhagen – Kinship care
All the members had sent in facts from their countries about the support and training for kinship careers.  Lectures with Tine Egelund and Marianne Folden.
NOFCA got 22 000 dkr. from Nordplus Voksen (Cirius) for this meeting

2007: November: Meeting/seminar in Oslo: Foster children and school.
Exchange of experiences and lectures with Toril Havik and Aase Midkiff.
We had applied Nordplus Voksen (Cirius), but didn’t get any money.

IV NOFCA Conferences
2001: 4.-5. October in Copenhagen. Luft under vingene (Familieplejen i Danmark)

2008: 8.-9. September in Nuuk. Nordic conference on Foster Care (PLF-Nuuk)
The superior purpose of the conference was to present recommendations related to improvements of the conditions of children and youth placed outside their home and, less importantly, of the foster parents.
Abstracts presented by delegates from the Nordic countries (NOFCA members)
Anbefalinger. Nordisk Konference om familieplje i Nuuk . report with the recommendations from the participants at the conference. The report is written by Ellen Sofie Chemnitz and Niels Dueholm.

V Activities connected to Ifco
2000: NOFCA had a workshop “Dreams and realities in after care” at the Ifco
conference in Cork, Ireland
2001: NOFCA had a stand (with information folder) at the Ifco conference in
Holland
2002: NOFCA had a stand and a workshop about the foster care at the Ifco
conference in Tampere, Finland
2003: July in Argentina, NOFCA meeting with Ifco board

VI The background to NOFCA
At the Ifco conference in Melbourne in 1999 Bodil Grön from Perhehoitoliitto got in contact with Hege Sundt from Norwegian Foster Care association. Bodil had the idea about a Nordic forum, where we could exchange experiences. We are close neighbours and have quite a similar foster care that can give the opportunities for closer co-operation than Ifco. Back in Norway and Finland we got in contact with Bjarne Sundström (FACO) from Sweden and Familieplejen i Danmark (Jens Asger and Niels Dueholm).

In February 2000 we had a planning meeting in Helsinki.

And then the 15 of May the NOFCA was established with 4 member organisations:
• Familieplejen i Danmark (Danish Foster Care Association)
• Norsk Fosterhjemsforening (Norwegian Foster Care Association)
• Familivårdens Centralorganisation (Swedish Foster Care Association)
• Perhehoitoliitto (Finnish Foster Care Association)

At this meeting in Oslo in May 2000 we found the name and made the regulations.
We had a lot of discussions how big we wanted NOFCA to be, an association or an informal network.  How many tasks were realistic? In the beginning it was only foster care associations that could be members of NOFCA. And there were also discussions that whom were going to attend the NOFCA meetings – the foster carers or the employed in the associations (like the secretary generals). In the first years each organisation besides Sweden had the leader of the organisation at the meeting and one employed that attend to the NOFCA meetings.

When NOFCA got in contact with Föreningen Socionomer I Fosterbarnsvården (The professional association of graduated in social science that work with children in placement) that had nearly the same purpose and tasks as NOFCA we decided not only to have foster care associations as members (§ 2 in the regulations).
Then when Barnaverndarstofa, Iceland become a member we had discussions if NOFCA should consist of public office not only NGO. Iceland at that time didn`t have a big foster care association that could attend to meetings abroad.