(MENAFN- Amman Net) “His hand held my shawl and his father's finger,” Hiba, a pseudonym, recalls her first meeting with her foster child, Karam, whom she and her husband embraced more than six years ago. With his brown skin and distinctive laughter, the infant, not yet three months old, stole Hiba's heart.

After that encounter, the couple began the paperwork process. They submitted a request for foster care in the hope of bringing Karam, a pseudonym, home next time.
The couple spent a long day in court with Karam until the decision was issued. They left with the little one to their home. Hiba was granted a one-day“gift” leave by her employer, as the law does not provide foster mothers any leave, regardless of the child's age.

In the first nights, the baby did not sleep well-not due to crying, but because he spent the night staring upwards. Hiba did not understand why. Later, social care supervisors explained that he was used to sleeping in a room with twenty children in bunk beds. Karam's bed in his new home was different.

Incomplete Joy

The child filled the home with joy. Hiba describes her feelings since that time:“Even if I had my own children, I could never love them like him. Impossible.”
After two years, the couple decided to foster another child, Reem, a pseudonym, also three months old. Reem's health was not good, but the family held firm to the decision.

Over the years, other concerns emerged regarding the future of the two children; the law does not grant them the right to a share of the father's pension in case of death, as they are not considered heirs.
Hiba feels particularly worried about her little daughter, Reem, who still suffers from a respiratory issue that began before her foster care. Hiba says:“Why? After a long life, the girl doesn't get a share of her father's pension? And the boy gets it only until a certain age.” Jordanian law grants unmarried daughters a share of the father's pension upon his death, regardless of age. Dependent males, however, are excluded after age 23, except in cases of total disability.

The Social Security Law stipulates that pension payments must be distributed to entitled heirs. It covers new employees in the civil sector since 1995, the military sector since 2003, and also applies to private sector employees according to the rules issued under this law.

“The Names Dilemma”

When children of unknown parentage enter the Hussein Social Institution, specialized in caring for children without family support, the Civil Status and Passports Department is contacted to issue birth certificates with fictitious four-part names and national ID numbers. Over the past five years, 367 children have been fostered or integrated into alternative care families, according to the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development.

After fostering or integrating the child, amendments are made to the child's name through the Civil Status and Passports Department; the father's name is changed to match the foster or alternative care father. The first part of the name may be modified according to the foster family's preference.
The mother's name on the birth certificate is listed as the foster mother. Accordingly, the child receives a personal“family book” and is not added to the foster family's book.

Differences in the third and fourth name parts pose challenges for foster families or care institutions, according to interviews conducted by the investigator with several families.
The“names dilemma” is different for Hiba; her foster children, Karam and Reem, are not only unrelated to the foster family but are siblings from their biological mother. Yet, each was given different third and fourth name parts and a separate family book.

Hiba explains that the family does not have a civil record proving the sibling relationship between the children, which causes considerable anxiety.
A survey by AREG, including 49 foster and alternative care families, found that 33% of the families reported the children faced discrimination due to names: some were bullied because their fourth name part differed from the father's family, and many questions arise everywhere-at the doctor, at school, during travel-forcing families to constantly explain, according to the survey.

Ghith Al-Tayeb, Director General of the Civil Status and Passports Department, explains that the law allows registering“illegitimate births” at any time in the department's records, based on an official letter from the Ministry of Social Development, considering the special case of this type of birth and as an exception to general reporting rules, which include specific legal periods.

Al-Tayeb pointed out that Article 20 of the Civil Status Law regulates the registration of such births, and the civil status office clerk selects and assigns a name for the parents.

The mismatch between the child's family name and the foster family's raises questions about the child's relationship with the family:“Where did you get the child? How? Where are their parents?” The foster parents must answer these intrusive questions repeatedly.

The Correction Committee at the Civil Status Department, when a child is fostered, adjusts the second name to match the foster father's name, corrects the mother's name to match the foster mother, and leaves the third and fourth names to the discretion of the official.

Confusion and Contradictory Standards

Legal texts in Jordan deal with foster and alternative care children with confusion, and the foster family is treated with seemingly contradictory standards. For example, Jordanian legislation obliges foster or alternative families to provide all forms of social care, including upbringing, medical treatment, education, and expenses. However, children are excluded from income tax calculations, so what parents spend on them is not tax-deductible. Additionally, the child does not get a share of the foster parent's pension.

Noha Ahmed, a pseudonym, a foster mother who shares a WhatsApp group with Hiba for foster and alternative care families, shares the same concerns.
Noha's daughter, Nour, aged four, did not secure her future after her foster father's death. Noha says that Nour receives no share of her foster father's pension. Her husband worked in the public sector and died due to medical error, she explains.

Noha shares the pension with her late husband's mother since he had no biological children. She notes that the portion she receives barely covers rent and utility bills.
The child misses her father and constantly asks about him:“She's very attached to him... he's always on her mind.”

The mother seeks work to secure income for herself and her daughter. She adds with regret:“The situation is just enough... I have to provide the things we hoped for, things we planned to give her. Since her father passed, she hasn't had anything.”

The Social Security Law allocates the wife half of the deceased husband's pension. If one or both parents are alive, each gets one-sixth. In Nour's case, two-thirds of the pension is shared between the wife and mother. The child does not receive any portion, as she is not a biological heir.

Ahmad Al-Harasis, spokesperson for the Fatwa Department, says there is nothing in Islamic law preventing a person from designating part of their pension to a foster child after death. However, the Fatwa Department cannot approve anything contrary to law, as long as it does not violate Sharia. He affirmed this is an administrative matter, not a religious issue.

A Hazy Scene

Saud Al-Salameen, former director of Sharia courts in Jordan, explains that Islamic law does not prevent a person from bequeathing part of their pension to non-heirs, up to one-third, without requiring heirs' consent. He also sees no harm in granting the child the family name. In cases where four-part names match non-relatives, the mother's name is used.

Raghda Boutros, a community activist and foster mother, emphasizes the importance of a child feeling belonging, security, dignity, and self-worth in their alternative family. She stresses balancing this belonging with the truth of the child's situation, and that parents must inform the child about being fostered.

Boutros notes that“some foster families faced refusal from schools, especially in governorates, to enroll their children.”

She also explains the privileges the child is deprived of in foster or alternative care:“Not registered in social security, no tax deductions counted, no university seat within state allocations, nor any rights enjoyed by the family.”

A 2025 report by the Justice Center for Legal Aid on the alternative care and foster system states that the 2014 Juveniles Law confines dealing with children in need of protection to the courts and stipulates that children can only enter or leave care institutions by court decision. Meanwhile, older legislation used by the Ministry of Social Development grants authority to the minister or court, conflicting with the higher-ranking law, the report notes.

Legal review of foster and alternative care regulations revealed sometimes conflicting provisions and, in other cases, lack of clarity, with gaps in the legislation highlighted.

Suhad Al-Sukari, legal consultant at the Justice Center, says the Ministry of Social Development works according to foster care instructions and the 1972 Childcare System under the old Ministry law. Judicial reference for issuing rulings for these children relies on the Juveniles Law.

There is no instruction issued under the 1972 Childcare Law due to absence in the system. Instructions are detailed legislative texts for implementing laws or regulations.

This confusion was evident in preparing the investigation: should the term“alternative care” used by Juveniles Court be applied, or should“foster care,” distinguished by the Ministry of Social Development with different procedural definitions, be used?

Legal Guardianship and Other Issues

Jordanian laws obligate foster parents to provide social care and upbringing but do not necessarily grant legal guardianship, preventing them from making key decisions. Families must apply to the Sharia court to obtain temporary or permanent guardianship.

A 2025 Justice Center report, based on focus groups with foster and alternative care families, indicated that obtaining guardianship was neither easy nor straightforward. Families felt treated as outsiders without blood ties to the child.

Suhib Al-Shkhanbeh, spokesperson for the Chief Justice's Office, explains that upon a court decision to place a minor with a caregiver, the judge may appoint a temporary guardian for a specified period. This document allows the caregiver to manage the minor's affairs and represent them. The caregiver may request temporary guardianship.

Al-Shkhanbeh noted that requests for temporary guardianship are only denied if eligibility conditions are unmet, prioritizing the minor's best interest. Once all legal documents are present, obtaining the guardianship certificate takes no more than 15 minutes. Lack of temporary guardianship complicates procedures like travel, education, and medical treatment.

“Court Day”

While speaking with Hiba, little Reem played in the next room, and Karam tried to eavesdrop, curious about a stranger in the home. Hiba told him:“Go play with your sister.” She added:“He knows we're talking about him... he behaves strangely when people are around.”

This curiosity puts the mother in a dilemma when going to court. Hiba and her husband must bring both children to Juveniles Court for foster care renewal. The child asks questions, seeing restrained children, some drug users. Hiba answers quickly and gives him her phone to distract him. She says:“God, I have to come every two years... he's small now and doesn't understand, but when he grows, what's his fault seeing all this?” She adds she begged the judge, but he insisted the child must be brought every two years.

Hiba and her husband obtained a longer foster period for Reem, due to the judge's sympathy, but still must bring Karam periodically to renew his case.

Court sessions are scheduled to extend care and verify the child's and family's situation, with the decision subject to periodic review by the enforcement judge.
Suhad Al-Sukari notes that judges can monitor the child through various tools, not necessarily court sessions. They may conduct sessions anywhere suitable, relying on reports from behavior monitors or social specialists visiting the home and communicating with school and health centers, gathering information on academics, behavior, and health. Linking child monitoring to court visits alone is not sufficient to ensure the child's best interest, she emphasizes.

Mothers, But...

The Ministry of Social Development distinguishes between foster care and alternative care programs. Foster mothers are required to breastfeed the child themselves or via relatives, depending on the child's gender. Mothers may take lactation supplements but are not entitled to maternity leave, regardless of the child's age.

Foster mothers are also deprived of benefits granted to biological mothers; Social Security Law does not provide foster mothers with care allowances given for each birth.

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