A home by any name

Children have a right to grow up in a caring family. In an ideal world all children would be at the heart of a loving family. But we do not live in an ideal world and my years as minister responsible for social policy brought me in touch with a number of children living in heartbreaking situations.

I have publicly said a number of times that one of the responsibilities that weighed most heavily on me in my former post was that of signing a care order, by which children are removed from their birth families and their care and custody passes on to the minister who has no option, in most cases, but to place them in institutional care.

No matter how wholesome institutional care is, and we have a great deal to be grateful to the Church authorities for providing it for so long, it is still institutional care and will never be anything but.

Children's homes have changed enormously in recent years. Gone are the dormitories of yore and many homes have smaller units that create a family environment as far as this is possible in the circumstances.

But they are still institutions, although we avoid using that word nowadays, in an attempt to be euphemistic and politically correct. Foster parents provide a home from home for a substantial number of children. Were it not for them, the number of children in institutions would be much higher. We need more and more foster parents. Last year, a fostering law was unanimously approved in Parliament. It was welcomed by all in that it made clear the role of foster parents, their rights and their responsibilities. The sector had quietly expanded over the years and the legislation simply formalised what had been functioning well in our society. Various budgetary measures have been introduced to help ease the financial burden that foster parents assume but, in many cases, this is nowhere near being adequate repayment for the care given to the children. Foster carers are taking into homes children with special needs, children who have been through traumatic times and need more help than one can imagine.

There were times when, on reading the report drawn up by the social workers, I would feel an impotent rage and a frustration beyond words. The neglect, the abuse, the sheer cruelty that some children experience from a very young age are sometimes incredible. Those who still believe in the natural calling of all women to be mothers should be made to sit down and read these reports. As for some of the fathers, well, they are certainly not worthy of the name and their fatherhood does not go beyond sperm donorship.

But these are the parents and they have parental rights. For far too long parental rights were sacrosanct. Luckily, today matters have changed and we give greater weight to the best interests of the child and to children's rights. One of the last laws to go through a Third Reading in the previous legislature was the Adoption Administration Act, which came into force in May 2008 and looks towards making special provision for the administration of adoption proceedings. Accompanied by amendments to the Civil Code, as far as adoptions go, this law now provides better regulation more in line with today's circumstances.

One of the amendments deals with the power of the court to dispense with parental consent and to free children for adoption by its own decision. Although the court has always had to power to dispense with parental consent, the new article widens the powers of the court, which may free a child for adoption when the parent cannot be found or has abandoned, neglected or persistently ill-treated the child in question.

The court may likewise decide to dispense with parental consent if the child is not in the care or custody of either parents and there is no reasonable hope of the reunion with either parent.

Even more important is the part of the law that says the child may be freed for adoption if the parents have unjustifiably not had contact with the child for at least 18 months. Contact does not mean a Christmas visit or a phone call and this was made amply clear at Committee stage when this part of the law was discussed at length because all present felt the dire need to ensure the possibility of a new life with a new family for a child who might otherwise end up staying in a children's home on the whim of a selfish parent.

The new legislation balances the rights of the parents and the rights of the child while at all times keeping in mind the best interests of the child and his/her right to grow up in a loving family.

It is ironic that while Maltese couples look abroad for adoption there are Maltese children in institutions who could be freed for adoption.

The court has the power to do away with parental consent on a number of grounds.

What is needed is for the court and those responsible for children in care to work closer together to make sure that children do not spend more than is absolutely necessary in an institution.

Ms Cristina is Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.