Petra Vrtbovska Winnette

Struck by the lack of a guiding approach to preparing families after they adopt, Petra Vrtbovska is revolutionizing the system of foster care in Czech Republic. He has built a community model of foster care support that targets all key players simultaneously; through combining therapy for at-risk children, continuing education for adoptive parents and foster care professionals, and research and dissemination of methodologies in the field, Petra’s Natama Institute has brought foster children’s emotional disorders to public recognition and is developing and spreading the country’s first set of shared best practices. From 2004 to 2008, 160 families were trained to become “Natama” foster/adoptive parents across three regions of the Czech Republic. Over the years, Petra aims to increase outreach and further disseminate learnings both regionally and internationally.

At the Natama Institute in Prague, Petra has developed a model of specialized support for key players in the foster care field. This model is uniquely characterized by its all-inclusive approach, in which Petra brings all key players, including children, parents and foster care professionals, together to be trained and counseled. As a result, foster care services are more unified and able to work together in a holistic fashion. Petra’s pioneering model combines therapy for at-risk children, continuing education for adoptive parents and foster care professionals, and research and dissemination of methodologies in the foster care field. For children, she focuses on therapeutic support, particularly for abandoned kids with serious social and emotional disorders. For parents, Petra provides support and information to deal with challenges they encounter once their adopted/foster child has arrived. Lastly, she builds capacity of foster care professionals by training them to incorporate best practices into their work in the field. Through her work, Petra has brought foster children’s emotional disorders public recognition. Throughout the Czech Republic and internationally, she is raising awareness in the field as well as through media publications, television programs, conferences and workshops. In 2009, Petra’s model of foster care was recognized and recommended by the state to regional centers across the country.

A 2007 study found that the Czech Republic has one of the worst systems of foster care and substitute families among the 32 researched European countries. Of the Czech Republic’s population of 20 million, there are currently about 22,000 children who are compelled to live in infant care institutions, diagnostic institutions, residential care institutions or children’s homes. In comparison with a country like Great Britain, which has a population of 60 million where only 6,000 children live in institutions, it is clear that the landscape of foster care services in the Czech Republic is fundamentally flawed.

Historically, the Communist regime set up large, residential institutions to care for abandoned children; however these institutions are either outdated or nonexistent. In the Czech Republic and many western European countries, the state, private organizations and foster care professionals have developed disjointed and isolated care services for foster and substitute families. As a result, children and their foster families are often unable to get effective and sustained support, first having to go to a recruitment center for abandoned children, at which point they are sent to a center for therapeutic services and consultations, and then to another for the actual adoption process, and yet another for social work and case management services. When parents need therapy, support or guidance they similarly have to visit multiple support organizations. As a result, the foster care system does not build lasting relationships between parents, children, and social workers to serve the individual needs of families and children.

Although there is a high demand for quality foster care services in the Czech Republic, little education and training is offered to parents or care professionals. This is mainly due to a lack of uniform methodology and best practices. The development of such a system is inhibited by the disconnectedness of foster care institutions as well as by the tendency of the post-communist government to monopolize knowledge. Further, the language barrier across Europe has hindered an exchange of information between countries, resulting in a lack of written resources on foster care in Czech.

All of these contributing factors lead children and their families to rely on a malfunctioning state system for support. Under this system, 40 percent of families fail to provide good quality care for their adopted children, leading some kids to return to their previous homes and others to stay despite the continued problems they face. This ineffective system has resulted in attachment disorders among 50 to 80 percent of Czech children and youth.

In 2003, Petra developed her integrated model for foster care, combining the otherwise disjointed aspects of the system, including recruitment, therapy, counseling, and adoption processes. She received her first funding for the Natama project from the private Czech television station, TV Nova, and since that time, has gained a reputation as a go-to resource for information on methods of care and innovative ideas in the field of child development and foster care.

From the start, Petra recognized the need to integrate the various components of foster care to ensure that all children are provided quality care throughout the entire process. Adding to the system, she also pointed out the need to provide training for foster care professionals, civil servants and institutions, and support services for foster parents. By aiding all three players within the same initiative, Petra works to integrate the system, raise awareness about the foster care process and encourage communication among all players.

Parents are an important piece of Petra’s foster care reform efforts, and she works with them to prepare for taking on new roles as foster/adoptive families. In particular, she has developed a special assessment-training program tailored to the Czech Republic. The training program addresses what it means to become a foster parent, how to meet children’s needs, the consequences of trauma, abandonment, abuse, and neglect, and positive steps towards bonding and security. In addition to training, Petra organizes parent support networks through therapeutic parental groups. From 2004 to 2008 there have been over 160 families trained to become foster/adoptive parents across three regions of the Czech Republic.

Petra also works with professionals in the field, including social workers, civil servants and institutions that provide for children and youth out of homes. In only two years 200 professionals participated in over 25 workshops and conferences with Natama. In partnership with these professionals, Petra is constantly working on accumulating knowledge and developing new methodologies that combine experience from countries that are further along in the field.

With the support of TV Nova, which is still a major supporter of Natama, Petra also utilizes media to spread her methodology and raise awareness. The promotion and publicity of her work has resulted in public acknowledgement of the problems in the foster care system of the Czech Republic.

In the next five to ten years Petra will focus on expanding Natama’s outreach and the overall knowledge captured by continuing educational and training programs. Petra aims for 400 new families to be trained and 150 children assessed and placed in “Natama families.” Professionals trained in Petra’s model can then in turn train others, thereby increasing the number of placed families and children. Furthermore, Petra expects to grow the parental support network to 20 groups of parents.

Petra’s objective is that Natama provides the model solutions and ideas for the state foster care system to work. She emphasizes the importance of reforming the current legislation and will continue working with the government to develop the best and most updated approach to childcare. Petra is also developing a deeper partnership with the state so that her model will ultimately be standardized nationally. The goal is that all clients – families, children, and professionals – will have access to quality services and support in the country.

Petra holds degrees in pedagogy, Czech literature, and visual arts. Following the completion of her studies, she began working as a teacher of Czech, Art, and English in the first private secondary school in Czech Republic where she was responsible for the development of new educational programs.

Petra’s interest in child development increased while working with her sister, Ashoka Fellow Michaela Svobodova, who was supporting youth during their transition from foster care institutions to independent life. In 2000, they launched the Change Project with the aim of transforming the childcare system.

During this project, Petra was struck by the lack of a guiding approach to preparing foster or adoptive families after they adopt a child. She also realized that no support system existed for children that have been seriously traumatized as a result of an unsuccessful or difficult adoption process. To address this need, Petra explored various systems of foster care in other countries, looking for ideas that could be implemented in the Czech Republic.

Petra regularly presents her work at international conferences to inspire international collaboration around her model. She spoke at the 2005 and 2007 International Foster Care Organization and was the keynote speaker at the 2009 International Pesso Boyden Psychomotor Psychotherapy Conference. Petra would like to establish an international Collegium on Developmental Psychology and Therapy to provide a platform for experts and practitioners in the field of foster care to focus on therapeutic parenting issues in broader context. She is a critical part of a growing international foster care dialogue and network key to advancing the field, particularly in the role they have to engage countries with outdated foster care institutions.