Family Foster Care, Kinship Networks, and Residential Care of Abandoned Infants in Egypt

Abstract

ABSTRACT While infant abandonment has occurred in all segments of society, on all continents, and across all generations, the motivations for this practice are varied and depend upon the social norms of a specific geographic region at a given point in time. Western approaches addressing the care of abandoned infants focus on terminating parental rights and placing the child in an adoptive home. The child assumes the family name and is privy to all rights and responsibilities as biological children. In Egypt, Islamic family law does not allow for adoption of an infant by a nonbiological individual. Nor does the country of Egypt allow assignment of guardianship or fostering of a child by a non-Egyptian parent. Therefore, models of care cannot simply be transferred from one context to the other, although they may learn from each other. Egypt's system of family foster care, kinship networks, and residential (institutional) care are models that are consistent with the cultural values and customs of this population. The family foster care model and kinship networks have been shown to provide the most positive psychosocial outcomes for the child. The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast culturally acceptable approaches to caring for abandoned infants in Egypt.