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Amateur:- A person who engages in an art, study or activity as a pastime rather than as a profession. One lacking the skill of a professional. Not professional; A dabbler. The central meaning of the above being, "one who engaging in a pursuit but lacking professional skill. Obviously foster parents do not belong in this group.

Caregiver:- I can find no official definition of this word commonly used in our system. Foster parents cannot be described by a non existent term.

Foster care:- Generally care of children on a full-time or temporary basis by persons other than their own parents. Also known as boarding- home care, foster care offers a supportive family environment to children whose natural parents cannot raise them for a multitude of reasons. Offering family support, acting as mediator, counsellor, budget adviser, and supervisor. For the child, the foster parent has to be a good role model, a teacher, home medical administrator, a taxi driver, a laundry person, a confidante, a friend, a cook, a source of money, a de-facto social worker. The foster parent must be consistent in all things, show an understanding, non-judgmental attitude, be culturally aware, be child behaviour managers, be well trained in special needs, both physical and emotional, act as advocate for the child, be a police officer and must have assessment ability. Above all the foster parent must have a temendous sense of humour and BE there for the child at all times.

Profession:- An occupation requiring considerable training and specialised study. With acquired, practical, systems and general knowledge leading to professional status, methods and standards. Surely foster parents, by any stretch of the imagination, must qualify to be included in this group and be recognised as professionals.
Switch on a television, drive your car or go fishing even. Doing any of these things without a licence is highly illegal, surely our children should rate higher than these.
Nursery, play group, kindergarten, health camp, teacher, nursing, even social work, all these occupations require some recognised piece of paper to be involved with children. It seems incredulous that the person who is involved with all facets of the child's life requires no official qualification to care for someone else's child.

Has the time come to officially acknowledge professional foster parents by the government and their agencies? Should there be a government held central register of all approved foster parents? Is it time for all foster parents to be required to hold a license, renewable annually? Should some on-going compulsory training be a requirement to hold a graduated licence?
I believe all the above are essential in providing the best possible care that New Zealand children have a right to.
Being a super-mum / dad in todays system is, on the face of it, inconsequential.
Who has the moral responsibility to ensure "the child's needs take preference over the dysfunctional family's wishes?" In my view that person has to be the one that provides the day to day care and nurturing,