Developing the social inclusion of children and young people

My participation in the EuroChild annual conference this year, with the theme National And European Policies For Social Inclusion Of Children And Young Persons, is certainly significant in order for Malta to be able to share its experiences at a European level. Furthermore, the theme of the conference perfectly reflects that chosen by my ministry to celebrate this year's Universal Children's Day on Monday: Towards A Better Welfare Of Children.

It is crucial for our country to promote the social inclusion of children and young people on both a national and an international level. Our belief is that every child should have the best start in life and an equal opportunity to fulfil his/her potential. As a government we work hard to ensure that this happens through the policies, services and legislation we put in place.

Governments and the European Union should seek to continue to modernise crucial public services in the health, justice, social and education sector in favour of children and young people who are marginalised and excluded from living a good quality life. Current policies and services have to be more effective; they must outreach and extend new opportunities to these children.

Malta's commitment to the social inclusion of children and young people is evident in the development of legislation, policies and services for children in the education, social, health and justice sector. The changes to existing laws and the introduction of new legislation, the investment of resources in widespread services, the development of human capital and administrative capacity have been important landmarks in achieving significant progress towards this goal. This balanced mix of initiatives is seen as crucial in securing an effective approach to the promotion of social inclusion of children and young people.

The national debate in Malta on children's legislation is an ongoing lively process and the government is determined to streamline all legislation and services to ensure that the present rights of children are not only preserved but enhanced. This requires a strong commitment, both by the government and other stakeholders, in establishing priorities and investing in those areas that would maximise return in favour of the best interest of children. My ministry is working on introducing fostering legislation and reviewing the adoption legislation. The setting up of the Family Court, late in 2003, was another initiative that certainly brought about important changes impacting positively on children in Malta. A social work service was also set up to assist the Family Court in marital separation proceedings and in cases of child abuse.

Education is certainly a key element in the social inclusion of children and young people. The government provides free education for all children and young people, from primary to tertiary level, and encourages young people to study at university or college by providing stipends and other incentives. Our strong educational roots now seek a new vision and strategy to ensure quality education for all. Only a quality leap forward guarantees for present and future generations' more fulfilling participation in a healthy society, replete with challenges and opportunities.

The title of the recently-published national strategy document For All Children To Succeed outlines the intended reform of the educational system leading to the autonomy and decentralisation of schools. The reform also targets higher and inclusive education and improvement in school attendance. There is a particular need to tackle low attendance, truancy and exclusion in some schools.

Each child has a right to an excellent learning environment that nurtures one's potential, talents and abilities. Every child has the right to succeed in life, irrespective of one's socio-economic background. Children with any disadvantage also have an equal right to be empowered.

As a government, we are seeking to promote the inclusion of children "on the edge" within the education system through the introduction, for example, of learning centres for children with challenging behaviour and through a revision of inclusion policies in relation to disabled children. We are also encouraging schools to remain open beyond school hours in order to provide the communities they service with further access to their resources.

In the year 2000, Agenzija Appogg was set up to address the needs of families in crisis and to provide more specialised children services. The service, which is predominantly in demand, is without doubt that of child protection. The more our society becomes aware of the need to provide our children with a safe environment, the greater the demand put on this service. However, this service cannot be seen in isolation from other related services.

Child Protection work will prove futile if it is not complemented, and supported, by other types of services that include a support line for children, supervised access visits for children with their parents, foster care service and the Looked After Children Service for children who are either in residential care or in community placements.

We have just seen the beginning of a new service, the Added Support Scheme, offering financial assistance to foster carers of children with challenging behaviour and disability. We will shortly witness the initial stages of a new therapeutic residential programme for children with disturbed behaviour. A new child care centre for children from vulnerable families is being planned. Moreover, we will be establishing new standards and guidelines to improve upon the quality of services for looked after children.

Early identification and intervention remains the best prevention against social exclusion. Greater prevention with an emphasis on addressing the education, health and social development of children and young people is fundamental. Preventive work helps children to be positive, their behaviour and attitude improve, and they therefore do better and excel. It was with this in mind that the government introduced various services, such as the parenting support programme and Home-start. This project is being funded by two business concerns, namely Vodafone and HSBC. This in itself is very interesting, with the public social sector joining forces with private enterprises in an initiative aimed at helping children and their families in areas of Malta which face more social challenges than others. Apart from this, the programme is run by volunteers, another relative novelty where public-run programmes are concerned locally.

This summer, the government launched national standards for child care facilities. This took place following a national consultation process on the setting of standards of child day care facilities. We also announced a financial scheme to assist service providers to achieve these standards. Moreover, the government established a new department for social welfare standards, which will be responsible for the setting of standards and regulations on social welfare services. Children have been earmarked as a priority area in this department's work. Just three weeks ago, the government introduced new financial measures to support parents whose children attend childcare centres.

When looking at Europe, we welcome the Communication on the Rights of the Child, published earlier this year by the Commission. This communication sets out the foundation for a more cooperative framework on the rights of the child on a European level. I believe this communication is a good start, but we should not stop at this. Europe needs a comprehensive and jointly agreed upon European child policy strategy for developing and monitoring the well-being of children and families with children.

The best interests of children should be taken into account in all society's measures and decisions affecting children. While recognising the government's crucial input towards the well-being of children, I believe it is important to underline that, first and foremost, the responsibility lies with the parents. As a society, however, we must clearly signal that we support families in this task. Parents need the help provided by primary services. Promoting the well-being of families is fundamental in recommending the best ways of supporting parents and in promoting the social inclusion of children and young people.

There is no doubt that the past years have been a time of development and change. The review of legislation, policies and services has helped to identify lacunae needing to be addressed as part of a long-term strategy. Future action will be based on past experience and on the government's vision for a concerted policy on children's rights. I am confident that, with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child as the foundation and yardstick for improvement, we will continue to endeavour to strengthen our efforts in favour of the social inclusion of children and young people.

Mrs Cristina, Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, is attending in the EuroChild European Conference on National and European Policies For Social Inclusion Of Children And Young Persons being held in Berlin, Germany.