Describes a foster care program in Zagreb, Croatia, for unaccompanied refugee children from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Unaccompanied Children in Exile (UCE) program gradually expanded during the 1990’s adding children with malignancies who required medical treatment in a family atmosphere. UCE selected children considered most vulnerable, including those who suffered deep trauma and were unable to cope with psychological stress and those with behavioral difficulties or serious health problems. Where possible, children were placed in a family of relatives (kinship foster care). Short-term plans included helping the child adjust to school; long-term plans contemplated eventual reunification with birth parents, repatriation with parents or extended family, or placement in permanent foster care. Foster-care placement for children with malignant diseases was especially difficult since the potential foster family needed to have adequate medical education, live near a hospital, and supervise a child’s therapy. Children in this specialized placement were, upon rehabilitation, reunited with their parents whenever possible. Not all children’s stories had a happy ending, however, despite the care of knowledgeable and warm foster families and the diligent efforts of medical professionals.
