Foster care (hraniteljstvo) is a temporary form of protection for a child without parental care or whose development is at risk in their own family: the child lives with another family until they return to their parents, are adopted or become independent. A foster carer can be an adult with full legal capacity who has been assessed as suitable, completed training and received a licence. Foster carers receive placement costs equal to the cost of placement in a public social and child protection institution and a work allowance of 30% of that amount for one child, or 50% for a child who needs additional support. The April 2026 amendments create a centre for foster care and family placement, and until it starts work the social work centre issues licences for two years.
This guide explains what foster care is, which types exist, who can foster, how to become a foster carer, how much the allowances are, what rights and duties a foster carer has and when a placement ends.
What is foster care and how does it differ from adoption?
- Foster care is temporary: the child is placed for care, upbringing and education until returning to the parents, adoption or independence.
- Adoption creates a permanent bond equal to blood kinship, while in foster care the parents keep the right and duty to represent the child, manage the child's property, support the child and stay in contact, unless they have been deprived of parental rights or do not care for the child.
- The guardianship authority decides on the placement if it is in the child's best interests, and signs a contract with the foster carer.
What types of foster care are there?
| Type | For whom | Duration |
| Standard foster care | children and young people without parental care and those whose development is at risk in their family | until return to the parents, adoption or independence |
| Foster care with intensive or additional support | a child with developmental difficulties or a disability, and a young person with a disability | as the child needs |
| Emergency foster care | a child who is a victim or at risk of neglect, abuse, exploitation or domestic violence, and when parents are suddenly unable to care | up to 30 days a year |
| Respite foster care | a child or young person with developmental difficulties who lives with a parent or guardian | up to 45 days a year |
Alongside foster care for children, the law also regulates family placement for pregnant women, single parents with a child under three, and adults and older people.
Who can become a foster carer?
- A foster carer can be a married couple or an individual, any adult with full legal capacity who, given their personality and harmonious family relationships, can give the child balanced development and help to return to their own family.
- The family must have adequate housing and financial conditions, and if both spouses live in it, both must consent to the placement.
- A child cannot be placed with a family where someone has been deprived of parental rights or convicted of a crime against marriage and the family, where a spouse does not meet the conditions to be a guardian, where the illness of a household member would endanger the child's health, where family relationships are disturbed, or which is hostile to the child or the child's parents.
- One family can take at most three children, or two children with developmental difficulties, and no more than four children in total may live in the foster family; more only exceptionally, when placing relatives or siblings.
- Twins, brothers and sisters are as a rule placed in the same family.
How do you become a foster carer?
- Contact the social work centre where you live for information.
- Experts assess your suitability, a task the law assigns from 2026 to the centre for foster care and family placement.
- During the assessment and later, while you provide care, you follow the centre's training programme.
- You receive a licence to provide the service; until the new centre starts work, the social work centre issues licences for two years, and licences already issued remain valid until they expire.
- When a child is placed, the guardianship authority issues a decision and signs a contract with you covering the start and length of the placement, your duties, the amount and payment of the allowance, reporting and the notice period.
- The foster family receives professional support at least every 50 days.
How much do foster carers receive?
| Allowance | Amount |
| Child's placement costs | equal to the cost of placement in a public social and child protection institution |
| Work allowance, standard, emergency and occasional foster care | 30% of those costs for one child and 15% for each additional child |
| Work allowance, foster care with intensive or additional support | 50% of those costs for one child and 25% for each additional child |
- For emergency and occasional placements, the cost allowance is calculated per day of the child's stay.
- An emergency foster carer receives the work allowance even when no child is placed, for up to one month after the last placement.
- A foster carer who is not related to the child in the direct line or in the collateral line up to the third degree is entitled to have social insurance contributions paid, if not insured on another basis.
- The work allowance and the placement cost allowance are not counted as income when calculating a share in the cost of social and child protection services.
- A foster carer can hold the right to child benefit and to the newborn allowance.
What rights and duties does a foster carer have?
- When a child without parental care is placed, the guardianship authority appoints the foster carer as the child's guardian.
- The family informs the guardian about everything important for the child's development, especially health, upbringing and schooling.
- The guardianship authority monitors the child's development, points out shortcomings and proposes measures.
- One of the foster carers of a child under eight is entitled to one year of continuous leave from work to care for the child, with salary compensation.
When does foster care end?
- A placement ends by agreement, when the contract term expires, by written notice, by termination of the contract, when the child comes of age or on adoption.
- The guardianship authority terminates the contract if any circumstance arises that would prevent placing a child with that family.
- If the child is in regular education, the placement can be extended for up to five years after the child comes of age.
How adoption differs and how it works is explained in our guide to child adoption, and child benefit and the newborn allowance in our guide to child benefit. The disability allowance and care supplement are covered in our guide to the disability allowance, and care for older people in our guide to nursing homes.
Frequently asked questions
Who can be a foster carer in Montenegro? An adult with full legal capacity or a married couple who have been assessed as suitable, completed training and received a licence.
How much do foster carers receive? Foster carers receive placement costs equal to institutional care plus a work allowance of 30% of that amount for one child, or 50% for a child who needs additional support.
How many children can live in a foster family? At most three children, or two children with developmental difficulties, and no more than four children in total, except when placing relatives or siblings.
How long is a foster carer licence valid? A licence issued by the social work centre is valid for two years.
How long does emergency foster care last? Emergency foster care lasts up to 30 days a year.
Is a foster carer entitled to leave from work? Yes, one of the foster carers of a child under eight is entitled to one year of continuous leave with salary compensation.
Sources
The conditions for foster carers, the number of children, the contract, parents' rights and the end of a placement are set by the Family Act (Articles 157 to 177), while the types of foster care, the licence, the foster care centre and contributions come from the amendments to the Social and Child Protection Act, Official Gazette 52/2026. The cost and work allowances and professional support are set by the Rulebook on family placement and foster care (Articles 32 to 34), which applies until a new one is adopted, and foster care leave by the Labour Act (Article 136). The role of the centres is explained by the social work centres and the Government of Montenegro. The information was checked on 27 September 2026. Fijaka is a classifieds platform; this text is not legal advice.