Caring for children in care

Social Policy Minister John Dalli told Parliament that the government's priority was to strengthen the family and, given the means, he would work towards that rather than building contingency plans for when this broke down. He added that the hardest part of his job was signing care orders (November 15).

It appears that Mr Dalli fails to understand the full significance of a care order. Additionally, he seems to lack the aptitude to build contingency plans for broken families.

Once the Family Court issues a care order, the Ministry for Social Policy is under a duty to receive the child into its care. It has the same powers and duties with respect to the child as his/her natural parent would have over him/her subject to certain specific exceptions. The child may be kept in a residential home or may be placed with foster-parents. About 250 children are placed in residential homes and 140 children are living with foster parents.

A wide variety of circumstances leads to the separation of children from their natural families. Some children experience inadequate parenting, others have parents who suffer from intractable psychological disorders or simply cannot cope with overwhelming pressures. There are children whose parents go through some form or another of temporary crisis; others are permanently abandoned.

Since most children coming into care are already socially disadvantaged, backward intellectually and educationally and disturbed emotionally, it is vital that more than adequate funds are provided by the ministry which acts "in loco parentis". Sadly, the ministry is failing dismally in this regard.

Mr Dalli is out of sync with the plight of children in care. Additionally, he seems to be totally oblivious to the sterling work foster parents and residential social workers provide for these deprived children.

Writing about our religious carers, the director of central office Ejjew Ghandi, Mgr Victor Zammit McKeon makes it abundantly clear that the government is paying them a pittance: "The religious cannot go to work and they do not receive a salary. They just beg and beg to continue with their mission until the very end. The children's allowance is just not enough" (November 1).

Fr Antoine Farrugia, a member of the Salesian Order, a highly-qualified and experienced residential social worker and a member of the Maltese Association of Social Workers, put it this way: "It is always positive that the Church helps out when it comes to this sector but, ultimately, the responsibilities lie with those who manage the country" (May 14, 2008).

Recently, the resignation of Joe Gerada from the post of chief executive officer of the government's Foundation for Social Welfare Services was announced. When asked, both Mr Gerada and Mr Dalli denied they had any clashes. It would patently be nonsense to pretend nothing went wrong between Mr Gerada and the minister. That Mr Gerada had been banging his head against a brick wall to achieve from the ministry his rightful requests is crystal clear.

Mr Gerada had been a big critic of the ministry. For instance, he liked to see a comprehensive Children's Act with a clear commitment to the different interventions and services that these children would require as well as increased funding for foster carers. It is an absolute disgrace that the ministry failed to respond to questions sent by The Sunday Times regarding the above valid requests (The Sunday Times, November 30, 2008).

I urge Mr Dalli to spare a thought for the children in care and for their carers. These children deserve to be nurtured with respect and dignity and their carers to be given a sharp rise in their allowances. His dismissive attitude towards these children's plight is Scrooge-like and completely mean-spirited.

Maltese families are bound to be hard hit by the difficult economic times being forecast. It does not seem to occur to Mr Dalli that these children and their carers are especially at the mercy of the biggest crisis we have ever experienced.

Mr Dalli could do with giving some thought to what Hubert Humphrey had to say about the moral aspect of social policy and practice: "... the moral test of government is how the government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped".

Hubert Humphrey was Vice-President under President Lyndon Johnson and a civil rights and social reformer. He died of cancer while still in office.