Foster Care in Çorum: The Psychology of Opening Your Door to a Child

What do foster care figures in Çorum tell us? We explore what fostering means for children and families, attachment, adjustment and how to prepare.

A child feeling safe as they get into bed at night, seeing the same faces when they wake up in the morning, having someone waiting for them at the school gate... Experiences that are ordinary for many children are often a privilege for children who cannot stay with their own families. The foster care model aims to offer these children care in a home setting rather than in an institution. According to a statement by the Çorum Governorship in December 2025, 95 children are being cared for by 81 foster families in the province. The figures for foster care in Çorum are a small but meaningful part of the roughly 11,000 children cared for by around 9,000 families across Turkey. In this article we look at what these figures tell us, what fostering means psychologically for the child and the family, and what people considering this path should be prepared for.

Foster Care in Çorum: What Do the Numbers Say?

The main facts about child protection in Çorum are as follows:

• Children in foster care: 95 children with 81 families (December 2025, statement by the Deputy Governor). Across Turkey, around 11,000 children and 9,000 families.
• Residential care: The Ministry of Family and Social Services' facilities in Çorum include a 0–18 Children's Homes Complex, a 13–18 Children's Homes Complex and a Children's Homes Coordination Centre.
• Social services network: There are Social Service Centres in the central district and in the districts of İskilip, Sungurlu, Alaca and Osmancık, as well as a Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centre (ŞÖNİM).

Two further facts sit behind this picture. First, Çorum's child population is shrinking. According to Özcan's (2021) study based on TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, the province's population aged 0–17 fell from 163,560 in 2007 to 122,282 in 2020. Second, according to TÜİK data cited in the same study, 1,702 incidents involving children brought to or coming to the security services as victims were recorded in Çorum in 2017. This is a count of incidents, not of individual children, and it may also be affected by recording practices. Even so, it is a reminder that there are children in need of protection and of how important protective services are.

The Limits of the Data

The foster care figures relate to a single date and are taken from an official statement. There are no published provincial data on the number of children in residential care, the number of children waiting for a foster family or the number of foster care applications. Provincial child protection data after 2017 could not be accessed either. It is therefore not possible to measure the full extent of need in Çorum with these figures.

What Is Foster Care, and How Does It Differ From Adoption?

Foster care means that children who cannot stay with their own family for various reasons are cared for by another family, under state supervision and for a certain period. The basic difference from adoption is that the child's legal ties do not change and the process is often temporary. When circumstances allow, the aim may be for the child to return to their own family. Foster care therefore acts as a "bridge" in a child's life.

Kinship foster care is also an important part of this model. When relatives such as a grandmother, grandfather, aunt or uncle take on the child's care, the child can stay in a familiar environment. In the Anatolian tradition of the extended family, this is really a long-standing form of solidarity being given an official framework.

Why a Family Setting? A Sociological and Psychological Reading

Around the world there is a shared direction in child protection: wherever possible, children should grow up in a family setting. Behind this lie both the findings of developmental psychology and social change.

The need for attachment. According to attachment theory, when a child forms a secure bond with an adult who cares for them consistently and sensitively, they gain a solid foundation for exploring the world and regulating their emotions. However careful residential care may be, changing caregivers can make this bond harder to form. A family setting offers more suitable ground for a consistent caring relationship. If you are curious about how attachment shows up in adult relationships, you can read our article on attachment styles.

Smaller families, changing solidarity. Household size in Çorum is shrinking and the child population is falling. As the old order, in which the extended family watched over children as a natural safety net, weakens, the official foster care model comes forward as a form of solidarity that fills this gap.

Public awareness. Misconceptions about foster care, such as "the child will be taken back later and you'll be heartbroken" or "only people without children can apply", can stop families from applying. Making the model more visible to the public could increase applications.

Complementing residential care, not replacing it. The children's homes complexes in Çorum provide an important safeguard for children in need. The foster care model should be seen not as an alternative to these facilities but as an option that complements them. For some children, residential care may be more suitable for a while. What matters is finding the most suitable form of care according to each child's needs.

Through the Child's Eyes: A Sense of Safety in a New Home

A child placed with a foster family has often experienced a serious disruption in their life. Neglect, loss, difficulties within the family or time spent in residential care can affect the way a child trusts adults.

Reactions That May Appear During Adjustment

• Excessive compliance: Some children try to be the "good child" in the first weeks and cause no trouble at all. This may be a sign not of feeling safe but of fear of being sent away again.
• Testing: After a while, the child may test whether the new family "really" wants them by breaking rules or having angry outbursts.
• Regression: Behaviour younger than their age, bedwetting or sleep problems may appear.
• Divided loyalty: The child may feel loyalty to both their own family and their foster family and feel caught between the two.

These reactions are understandable responses to what the child has been through. A patient and consistent approach allows trust to be built over time.

School and Friendships

Moving to a new home often also means starting at a new school. The child may face new teachers, new classmates and questions such as "Why don't you live with your mum and dad?". Working with the school, informing the teacher to an extent that protects the child's privacy and supporting the child in making new friends all make adjustment easier.

Opening your door to a child means letting their past in too. Trust is built not in spite of that past, but alongside it.

Through the Family's Eyes: Love, Uncertainty and Farewell

Becoming a foster family carries deep meaning, but it is also emotionally demanding.

Living With Uncertainty

How long the child will stay is not always clear. This uncertainty can push the family to keep their distance out of fear that "if I get too attached, the separation will hurt too much". Yet this bond is exactly what the child needs. Coping with this dilemma is one of the most delicate points of the process.

Birth Children and Family Balance

If there are other children in the home, they are also affected by the change. Sharing a parent's attention, or sharing a room or toys, can create jealousy or confusion. It is important to prepare siblings for the process and to listen to their feelings.

Fostering in a Small City

In a small city, families know one another. On the one hand this means support: neighbours, relatives and the school community can look out for the child. On the other hand, curiosity and questions multiply. Questions such as "Whose child is this?" or "What happened to their family?" can put both the child and the family in a difficult position. In the experience of foster care in Çorum, it is important to protect the child's privacy, prepare short and kind answers to such questions and not share the child's past without their permission. A child's story should only be told when they are ready, and only as much as they choose.

Saying Goodbye

When the child returns to their own family or moves to another placement, the foster family experiences a real loss. This loss needs to be grieved. Suppressing feelings by saying "it was only ever temporary" can make it harder for the family to open up to the next child.

Practical Suggestions for Those Considering Foster Care in Çorum

1. Examine your motivation. Fostering means responding to a child's need. Applying to ease your own loneliness or the pain of a loss can be a burden for both you and the child. Make the decision as a family, talking it through with everyone in the household.
2. Get informed. Ask the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services and the social service centres about eligibility, training programmes and the process. Talking to people who have fostered before helps you form realistic expectations.
3. Take the training seriously. The training given to prospective foster carers is valuable for understanding the difficulties children have faced and how to approach them.
4. Respect the child's past. Avoid speaking negatively about the child's own family. For the child, this can feel like hearing someone speak about a part of themselves.
5. Provide routine and predictability. Regular mealtimes, a bedtime routine and clear but warm rules support the child's sense of safety.
6. Build your own support. Regular contact with social workers, connecting with other foster families and seeking psychological support when needed keep you strong on this long journey.
7. Make sense of the child's story together. In language suited to their age, talk about why the child is here and about the place of their own family and of you in their life. Although it is a different process, what has been written about telling a child they are adopted can offer ideas for open communication.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

Struggling during the adjustment period is to be expected. However, it may be helpful to consult a child mental health specialist in the following situations:

• If the child's angry outbursts, fears or sleep problems have not eased after several months
• If the child is extremely withdrawn, emotionally flat or excessively wary of adults
• If marked difficulties with adjustment and learning have emerged at school
• If the child frequently repeats difficult past events in their play, drawings or words
• If you, as foster parents, feel exhausted, helpless or angry

In urgent situations, such as a child harming themselves, talking about thoughts of self-harm or a suspicion of abuse, call 112 (emergency services) without delay. These signs do not in themselves amount to a diagnosis, but they require specialist assessment.

How Is the Foster Care Process Addressed in Therapy?

When working with a child in foster care, the main aim is to strengthen the child's sense of safety and help them make sense of their experiences. Child and play therapy is an important tool here.

Play therapy. Young children find it hard to put feelings into words. In child-centred play therapy, the child expresses fears, longings and experiences through play in a safe setting. By reflecting and accepting the child's feelings, the therapist helps the child feel understood.

Children's drawings. Drawing can be a window into a child's inner world. However, drawings are not treated as an interpretation tool on their own but as part of the communication built with the child.

Sessions with parents. In sessions with foster parents, the needs behind the child's behaviour, consistent boundary-setting and ways of helping the child regulate emotions are explored.

A trauma-informed approach. If there are difficult experiences in the child's past, signs of psychological trauma are carefully assessed and work is planned at a pace that respects the child.

Alongside face-to-face sessions with children in Çorum, parent counselling can also be carried out online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to be childless to become a foster carer?

No. Families who have their own children can also foster. What matters is that the family has the conditions and willingness to meet the child's needs. For up-to-date information on eligibility, you can consult the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services.

What should I do if I am very upset when the child returns to their family?

This sadness is entirely natural and is the result of a real loss. Rather than suppressing your feelings, making room for them and talking to your partner or other foster families helps. If the grief lasts a long time and affects your daily life, you can seek professional support.

Why does the child in our foster care sometimes challenge us?

Children who have been through difficult experiences may test whether new adults really want them. This behaviour is often part of a search for trust. A consistent, calm and loving approach helps these tests diminish over time.

What is kinship foster care?

It is when a child is cared for by a relative, such as a grandmother, grandfather, aunt or uncle, within the official foster care framework. This model allows the child to stay in a familiar family environment and often makes adjustment easier.

• #foster care
• #attachment
• #child mental health
• #family

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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