Interplanetary Foster System

Known as the IFS, the Interplanetary Foster System is the organization funded by the IPA that manages nearly all orphanages and foster homes in the galaxy.

Structure

While most people in the galaxy only interact with a certain level of the organization (usually the lowest levels), the IFS has many levels to its structure. At the head are the executives, who decide on funding and locations, and determine assignments for the level below them. After the executives are the directors, who manage affairs on a planetary basis, sending money to locations, processing requests, organizing transportation, and approving the hiring of lower-level members.

by Lilliana Casper

Just below the directors are two levels, interviewers and recordkeepers. Interviewers conduct background checks, interviews, and training for new members as well as potential foster home and orphanage heads. Recordkeepers are in charge of keeping all the information on members and wards organized and easy to access. Brach heads and social workers are the lowest levels of the IFS and the ones that most people come in contact with. Branch heads command the branches located in cities and work in the IFS offices of their area, usually handling adoption cases. Social workers handle cases by ensuring their wards are cared for, doing well, and on the road to adoption. Out of all the levels, they interact with the children the most, but are understaffed on poor planets.

Separate from the actual IFS, the heads of orphanages and foster homes are often grouped in with them. As long as they pass the background checks and interviews, almost anyone can become one. If interviewers and directors fail to remove people who do not pass, orphanages and foster homes can become incredibly toxic and abusive, leading to traumatized and abandoned children who are never adopted. This issue is more prevalent on poor planets where records are easily lost or damaged.

History

Before 680 APC, planets and cities managed their own orphanage systems. On many planets, religious organizations took in children whose parents died or abandoned them. The IPA decided to create a galactic organization to manage all of these smaller systems after a brief war on two minor planets left thousands of displaced children. While some planets such as Jaque, Geranium, and Kersar consented under specific conditions, others agreed instantly. Most governments were tired of having to take care of the constant stream of children who had no parents to take care of them and were happy to let someone else do it.

In 680, the IFS was officially founded. With their main offices located on Zenricho, the IFS began to take command of all the previous foster systems. On many planets, they integrated into the already-created systems and slowly began to manage more and more decisions until everyone involved in the foster systems of those planets had to be approved by them. On worlds like Jaque and Kersar, they simply took advisory positions and kept records, allowing the currently well-functioning systems to continue without any interference.

I don't have much experience with IFS-controlled homes. Jaque has always managed its own under a separate department. We used to get orphans from other planets so they could be adopted by our citizens, but that was centuries ago. I'm only vaguely familiar with the IFS procedures by now.

— Queen Victoria

Over the years, the IFS spread farther across the galaxy. Planets outside of the IPA often allowed it to manage their orphanages. When wars erupted, the IFS was allowed to take charge of the orphans left behind, often moving them to safer planets so the fighting could die down. Especially in its early years, the IFS focused on sending its wards to be adopted into secure households. Over the years, children were moved off-planet less often. This meant that orphanages on less financially stable planets began to decline in condition.
Currently, the IFS either runs, manages, or funds most orphanages in the galaxy. Foster homes must also be approved by them before they can operate. On wealthy, stable planets, the IFS is seen as a charitable organization dedicated to helping orphans, but on poorer planets that are ignored by much of the galaxy, they are seen as a group that forces children into abusive and filthy homes without helping or caring about them.

Orphanages on Maynrel are awful. The IFS there turns a blind eye to whatever goes on in them. I didn't want to go there. So I left.

— Odin, Deadlock

Founding Date

680 APC

Type

Civil Services

Alternative Names

The IFS; Orphan Organization

Ruling Organization

The Interplanetary Peace Alliance

Location

Zenricho

Runaways

While orphanages and foster homes on wealthy and stable planets like Zenricho, Laval, and Haspanic are well-funded and examined on a regular basis, those on planets like Maynrel, Ovalnow, and Averiy are often left in disrepair and rarely checked for corruption. The orphanage directors and foster parents can often get away with managing homes without extensive screening, leading to both underfunded and abusive homes.
While some children (often those too timid or traumatized to attempt escape) remain in these toxic environments for most of their lives, many choose to run. Some leave homes they have lived in for months and some escape before the IFS even touches their cases. Maynrel in particular is known to have high numbers of runaways, as many orphanages hire out their wards for labor in the mines. Maynrel children who lose parents will often attempt to join work groups or even leave the planet.
Runaways are often caught within a few weeks of their escape. Depending on the child and how far they traveled, some are sent back to their former home and others are kept on the planet they were found. Older children who know this will usually try to reach Kersar, Jaque, or Geranium in the hopes they can be sorted into a better system. Some runaways are never found. Most of these missing children will have starved to death or been kidnapped by pirates, gangs, or slavers. But despite the risks, many children, particularly teens, have the hope of becoming one of the few runaways to disappear and find a new life.

City buildings by Lilliana Casper