Welcome to Ian Forber-Pratt's Website...

Hi all,

Thanks to those who are following the very beginnings of my journey to start Foster Care in Udaipur. My determination continues to grow as this plan develops.

A good friend, Mark Specht was kind enough to let me bounce ideas off of him this Saturday (July 17, 2010) about this business plan. A couple things came to light:

a) I need to be collaborating with a legal mind or organization in Udaipur who could speculate what regulations/ government 'hurdles' etc. I can anticipate.

b) I need a solid lit review that explains the history (in a concise manor) of Foster Care and why it exists. Then I need the most recent information possible on current Foster Care initiatives in India (this I have).

c) Create the frame-work for how my not-for-profit will manage all the case management, training and regulation of foster care while the government funds and sets guidelines.

d) HUGE DEAL - I need to find accurate measures of the social change brought about by foster care. Hopefully these already exist, however, if they do not I need to start creating them. I will need to have baseline assessments and surveys done of current conditions in Udaipur before I can 'prove' that Foster Care is an effective way to help orphan children.

Things I did this Sat.:

Discovered and made contact with an organization in Wisconsin (of all places) that is currently working on a foster care venture in India. The agency opened a foster home for 20 children in 2006. They are called Partners in Foster Care and can be found at www.fostering.us. Cool huh? I sent them a full contact email and can't wait to start a dialogue.

I also found my research notebook from 2007 when I did Anthropolgical research in udaipur. I am going to send a contact email to those people that looks something like this:

i _____________,

I don't know if you remember me from a visit I made to Udaipur in 2007. I was studying the reservation system along with a group from Principia College in Illinois. Our professor was Madam Sally Ji.

Since our meeting in 2007, my life has taken some new directions. I completed my masters in social work here in Saint Louis. I am planning a permanent move to Udaipur in the coming 2 years.

I hope to start foster care in Udaipur with the intention of giving orphan children a chance of success in life. As you can imagine, this is a huge undertaking.

I am writing to you to ask for some initial impressions of this idea. I will be in Udaipur in November for 2 weeks and hope to start my work by having meetings with key people who might be able to guide my idea to fruition.

I have a working draft of a business plan and am traveling to India in November to start my initial plans. My design is a 5 year plan that implement a working model of foster care in Udaipur, Rajasthan. I hope to have 4 working foster homes and a small group home during the first 3 years. The first year and pre-planning year will involve creating awareness and forging collaborative relationships with the government and local providers such as health care and schools.

I will attend an intensive Hindi course in Jaipur all next summer and move to Udaipur next fall for at least one year while deciding whether the move is permanent or semi-permanent.

When I am there it will be important to appropriately ask questions about the government's desire for such a program and whether local agencies would want to help to people with some influence in the city.

I have a couple questions for you:
Do you think this is a good idea?
Do you have a guess about how many orphan children in Udaipur and surrounding areas?
Do you think the government would like this type of help for children? (It would be funded by the government, ideally, and everything would be managed by my not for profit)

I am humbly ready to revise my plans, change them or throw them away and head in a new direction. I just want to help orphan children and help the city. I want the 'model' of foster care I produce to be able to be used in many other cities throughout India. I know there are significant cultural issues I will face. I plan to work hard. I am confident that I can help children and will dedicate my life to doing so.

I hope you are well and I would love any thoughts you have on this idea. Also if you know of anyone I need to contact please let me know.

I am in the process of learning Hindi fluently and am hoping to spend next summer completing an intensive Hindi course in Jaipur.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Thank you,
Ian

Hopefully this will allow me to start a conversation with some key people in Udaipur.

Well, I better get'a'send'.
More to come,
Ian