How to become a host family ?

When a child is entrusted to Childhood Social Assistance (ASE), the departmental maternal and child protection services (PMI) can decide to place him in a host family for a while. Behind the name “host family”, there is a referent person who exercises the family assistant job. In France, it is estimated that 40,000 the number of working family assistants. The profession is also defined and regulated according to very specific criteria and procedures. What is the role of the family assistant? How do you become a host family? Who can apply and what is the salary? Elements of answers with Sonia Mazel-Bourdois, president of the National Federation of Family Assistants and Child Protection (FNAF-PE).

What is the role of the host family?

The role of the family assistant is to accommodate in one’s home one or more children (from 0 to 21 years old) whose parents, for various reasons, are unable to take care of them. With the other members of his household (spouse, children), the family assistant constitutes a foster family for this child and therefore he must take care of the child on a daily basis.

As detailed by a document from the Directorate General for Social Cohesion (DGCS)the family assistant must “help the child grow, find or regain a balance and move towards autonomy, and support him in his relationship with his own family“. THE FNAF-PE website also states that it is essential to“observe, listen to and take into account the specific needs of minors or young adults in order to promote their physical, emotional, intellectual and social development”and to set up an adapted living and educational environment.

“The family assistant must “help the child to grow, to find or rediscover a balance and to move towards autonomy, and to accompany him in his relations with his own family”.

What are the requirements to become a host family?

A certain number of terms are required before starting the process to become a foster family:

• Be of French nationality, be a citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA) or hold a valid residence permit authorizing the exercise of a professional activity.
• Any adult in the household must have a clean criminal record and never have been convicted of offenses relating to children.
• Submit to a medical examination ensuring that your state of health is compatible with fostering children.
• The welcomed child must have a room for him.
• Be able to welcome a baby like a young adult, by presenting reception conditions guaranteeing their safety, their health and their development.

To become a family assistant, you must do a request from the PMI of his department for obtain a license as a family assistant. “PMI professionals have a first meeting called ‘prior to approval’, and which presents the profession. Some family assistants sometimes attend to talk about their experiences. Those interested then take an application file and fill it”; explains the president of the FNAF-PE.

The file is generally investigated for several months, and an investigation is carried out. “Appointments with psychologists, social workers and future family assistants as well as members of their household are organised. Home visits to potential future host families also take place in order to check that the accommodation corresponds to childcare in terms of safety and room availability. Today, a maximum of three children can be placed in a foster family., adds the specialist.

At the end of this investigation carried out by the competent authorities, family assistant license is given or not to the host family. Once the family assistant obtains his approval, he must be recruited by the department or associationsafter which he must take a 60-hour training course prior to the first reception.

“Today, a maximum of three children can be placed in foster care.”

What is the salary of a family assistant in 2023?

Generally, the salary of a family assistant depends on the number of children cared for. Since September 1, 2022 and the application of the Taquet law, “the remuneration of a family assistant corresponds for the first child placed to a monthly minimum wage (€1,709.28)from which social contributions must be deducted” says our interlocutor.

“For the second and third child, we are on a minimum of 70 hours of hourly minimum wage per month (788.90 euros). The departments can pay more per hour but it is the legal minimum throughout France”, details Sonia Mazel-Bourdois. “A emergency hospitality allowance can also be paid”specifies the public service website.

Who pays the family assistant?

The family assistant is recruited and employed by a department or an association. It is one or the other who supports the remuneration of the professional. The family assistant has the status of employee under a permanent contract.

Application for authorization to be a family assistant must be carried out with the PMI of your department. THE Cerfa form no. 13395*02 duly completed must be accompanied by a medical certificate attesting that the applicant’s state of health allows him to take in children and an extract from bulletin no. 2 of the criminal record of all adults living in his home. The file must then be hand-delivered or sent to the department’s child welfare service.

The applicant will then be assessed for a period of 4 months during which he will meet psychologists and social workers whose role will be to assess his motivation and that of his relatives, his availability, but also his mastery of the French language. Several home visits are also planned. At the end of these 4 months, and according to a criteria grid very precise, the PMI service notifies the applicant of its decisionspecifying the number of minors and young adults under the age of 21 that it can accommodate at the same time (generally no more than 3).

What is the duration of an authorization for a host family?

Accreditation is granted for a period of 5 years and it can be renewed. “People with the DEAF diploma (State diploma of family assistant, editor’s note) provide their diploma on the first renewal and are exempt from the following to date”says the president of the FNAF-PE.

What training to become a host family?

To be able to welcome a child as a family assistant, it is necessary to follow 60 hour training. In the three years following the signing of the first employment contract, the family assistant must also follow a 240-hour work-study course, over 18 to 24 months, the cost of which is covered by the employer.

It aims to train in the psychological, educational and legal aspects of the profession. At the end of this training, he presents the state diploma of family assistant (DEAF). This diploma can also be obtained under the validation of acquired experience (VAE) and holders of a diploma of childcare assistant, educator of young children, specialized educator or childcare worker are exempted from it. .

Can you be a host family if you are single?

It is not necessary to be married, or even in a relationship, to become a host family. It is also not essential to already have children, each application is studied by the departmental council.

Can you be a host family and work?

The profession of family assistant is a full-time profession which is incompatible with any other professional activity. Nevertheless, “Certain job conditions may be compatible with childcare, particularly in terms of availability and therefore open up prospects for dual employment”, says Sonia Maze-Bourdois. On the other hand, the spouse of the family assistant can work because if the child is well sheltered at home, it is not he or she who is legally responsible for it.

Thanks to Sonia Mazel-Bourdois, president of the FNAF-PE.