The interest of the child is at the heart of the Protection of Minors (Alternative Care) Bill Family Minister Michael Falzon said.
Parliament was debating the Protection of Minors (Alternative Care) Bill. The Bill would substitute the Child Protection (Alternative Care) Act, to provide for protection orders for minors, for alternative care and for suitable protection for those minors deprived of parental care or in the risk of being so deprived.
Family Minister Michael Falzon said that the new law intends to bring the country up-to-date with the current necessities of this field. He said that government widely consulted on this, and highlighting that it had gone out for public consultation twice.
He mentioned that both major political parties want the best for children, and said that both he and a PN representative had announced it together.
"This is not a perfect law and will not solve all the problems in this sector."
The minister said that some changes and ideas were taken onboard from the public consultation, including from the PN camp.
There are 450 children in care in Malta, he said, not in their natural family environment. Around half are fostered while the rest are in homes. In truth, he said, government wishes they can bring this number to zero but that would be an impossible to reach utopia, he said.
The law is clear, he said, that every decision taken must put the child's interest first and foremost before anything else. He said that in the old law, certain decisions were not appealable and one thing that they looked at was that decisions would be appealable.
On care orders, each one has to be accompanied by ministerial approval in the current law, he said. In most cases the minister would not be very knowledgeable in this sector, "and so we are proposing the involvement of the courts."
When it comes to the most vulnerable cases, like unaccompanied minors, the law provides the possibility for the minor to have a special guardian.
The law also deals with mandatory reporting. By this, he said, government is proposing that professionals in this field would be obliged to bring a suspected case to the attention of the authorities, who would then be responsible.
In today's law, a minor must at least spend 10 years in a foster carer's home before being allowed to be adopted, he said. He highlighted that government believes this is too long. "We are saying that after five years the foster carer can ask to adopt the child."
In cases requiring intervention, under today's law only a care order option is available. The new law however allows for others, he said. There are circumstances where an emergency order needs to be issued, he added, giving an example.
The PN's Spokesperson for the Family Claudio Grech said that there is agreement on the aims being discussed. He said that on aspects of life, the different political parties tend to agree with each other.
Grech said that policies regarding children are a mirror of society, "and we have a huge obligation as to how it will be reflected."
Every child has a right to a normal and content childhood, he said, adding that there are many children who fall outside the limits of this law who have their childhood prejudiced due to bullying, and he aired his hope to legislate to recognise this phenomenon and recognise that childhood problems are not only tied to these issues which are in extremis but which come from other issues as well.
He stressed that mistakes cannot be made in this law.
Grech said that more reference needs to be made to the unborn child in the bill, and how they also merit protection under this law. He said that there should be stronger provisions providing protection to the most vulnerable.
Grech brought up the structures within the sector and while welcoming the announcement that the Director of child protection be issued by a public call, he said that it does not make sense for nearly all people are political appointees. He called for agreement for the only criteria to be used in the appointment of people to be a person's skills and experience.
The PN is also proposing hat the Director for Child Protection be made a separate institution from others, thus introducing an element of checks and balances in the overall process.
He also spoke of the need to encourage NGOs to provide foster casing services.
from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2H2AEzF
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