Social workers call for regulation of children's homes

Incidents of child abuse at Lourdes Home, in Gozo, that were brought to the country's attention in a report released by the Gozo Curia, highlight the need to regulate the provision of services for children in residential and foster care, the Maltese Association of Social Workers (MASW) said.

The association stressed the government's role in ensuring that such homes are better funded "in order to bring about the much-desired change" in out-of-home care for children.

In a lengthy statement, the association deplored the abuse revealed, saying it fully supported the setting of standards in the service provided to children in residential care.

It urged the employment of an adequate number of professional staff in children's homes.

The association also fully endorsed the need for training of and professional support to all staff and volunteers working with vulnerable client groups, particularly children with challenging behaviour and children who are not living with their family of origin.

"While it recognises the good work that has been accomplished and is still being undeniably carried out by many dedicated people in this field, MASW cannot fail to note the mounting pressure on the traditional systems of care and the very basic deficiencies which are coming to the fore in this system. Consequently, MASW supports the much-needed reforms in the systems of care for minors in Malta," the association said.

The association noted that, through the involvement of a number of its members, it took an active part in working groups aimed at enhancing such reform. Social workers also participated in the formulation of standards and policies in this area.

MASW said that residential care services for children are part of a system of social services and a part of a wider socio-economic reality. Social workers believe that, in order to be effective, one needs to take a critical look at the reasons why children enter the care system, the way the different parts of the system interact, and also undertake professional work with the children's families and the communities they come from.

"A number of children who enter the care system in their early years are likely to start off on a veritable care career and, unless their family situation improves or receives the support it requires, their chances of being reintegrated remain very low," MASW said.

Given the over-reliance on Church and other voluntary institutions in providing resource-intensive service for children and families, the government's investment in this sphere has been rather limited.

Most children's residential care services have come to rely too much on charity and a good part of the energy of those running them is spent in raising funds to pay lay staff, maintenance and running costs.

MASW quoted a 2005 study (European Commission/ University of Birmingham, Daphne Programme) - entitled Mapping The Number And Characteristics Of Children Under Three In Institutions Across Europe At Risk Of Harm - in which Malta placed in the penultimate position in Europe with regard to the average annual cost of residential care per child under three years of age: €1,444 (Lm620) per child per annum.

"While Malta's figures do not include the unpaid work put in by the voluntary Church organisations, this evidence clearly emphasises that our country's socio-economic progress requires further investment in these children and the modernisation of the care-giving services - not only in terms of policies but also in terms of the provision of financial and human resources."

The association noted with satisfaction that the then Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity (now Education Minister Dolores Cristina) started the process of formulating the national standards of care in an effort to improve the standards of practice in children's homes as well as model policies geared not to leave good practice to chance.

The implementation of these policies and the engagement of lay workers to replace the dwindling numbers of religious staff is expected to bring about a huge rise in the expenses required to run a children's home.

"While abuse can take place in a residential setting as much as is it could take place in foster care, at home with relatives and in any other setting, the state should recognise that incidents of abuse in out-of-home care are more likely to happen when staff are operating unsupervised, in poor working conditions and having to cope with stressful demands from clients in an inadequately supported environment.

Therefore, it is to be hoped that the state will not just propose but also finance these processes in order to bring about the much-desired change," MASW said.