Stop rights to unreformed parents, Children's Commissioner insists

Incompetent mothers and fathers who refuse to reform should have their parental rights permanently terminated, allowing the children to be adopted by stable families, outgoing Children's Commissioner Carmen Zammit said.

"There are some very severe cases where, after a long time working with the parents, there is no improvement and you know you will not get anywhere. It is not right that the children are transferred from one place to another. They need stability," Ms Zammit said yesterday.

Her call, included in a report about care orders, which outlined the faults in the system, echoes an appeal made by the former CEO of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, Joe Gerada in October 2008.

Mr Gerada had said that failed parents should be forced to put their children up for adoption rather than condemn them to an institute for years. According to Aġenzija Appoġġ, 37 care orders were issued last year.

Ms Zammit emphasised that each case had to be evaluated on its own merits. "This is a very serious thing," she said, adding that every attempt should be made to redeem the biological parents with the aim of reuniting the family.

"Every effort should be made and all avenues exhausted to keep children with their parents. But when it is determined this will be absolutely impossible, we should have the courage to say these children need a family and should not spend their lives going from one institution to another," she said.

Moreover, although fostering was a good short-term measure while the natural parents were undergoing the necessary therapy, it should not be for life, unless this was determined to be in the best interest of the child because of the bond created with the foster carers.

In the detailed report, Ms Zammit, whose three-year term expired in April and will be succeeded by former Parliamentary Secretary Helen D'Amato, said services for abused children were plagued by lack of resources.

The report follows an 18-month inquiry by the commissioner after a child who suffered from severe abuse was sent back to live with his mother despite a care order after no children's home would take him because of behavioural problems.

"This situation is unacceptable and it is imperative to create additional residences for children, not only to remove them from an abusive environment but also to give them personalised help," Ms Zammit said.

She insisted children who were removed from their families because of abuse should not be returned to the abusive environment.

"Before a minor is sent back with whoever used to abuse or neglect him, experts should work with the family to ensure they have acquired the necessary parenting skills. This is already done with foster carers," she said.

She said nuns running homes for children were too busy and had little help and support. "It seems the authorities do not realise nuns are humans and get tired and stressed like everyone else," she said.

Ms Zammit said children's homes should be given more financial help, human resources and transport to take children for medical and therapeutic appointments. There also had to be better security in residential homes to protect minors and their carers from aggressive parents or other children.

Ms Zammit said the excessive workload of social workers with Aġenzija Appoġġ made it impossible for them to give individual attention to cases and build a significant relationship with minors.

The commissioner received complaints that social workers were not experienced enough and there was need for investment in continuous training and adequate working conditions to keep them from leaving.

Ms Zammit said there was fragmentation between the services offered by Aġenzija Appoġġ, leading to lapses in the necessary help when children were being transferred from one service to another while the exchange of information between professionals was lacking.

She also called for cooperation between different entities, including the educational authorities and the police.

"Extra formalities, form-filling and written requests before taking decisions regarding the future and needs of minors under a care order had to be reduced because it leads to a waste of time, which is indispensible in these cases."

Commissioner's recommendations

• There has to be immediate financial, structural and human investment to protect minors.

• Young children should not be put in residential homes with older children.

• Children with challenging behaviour should not be put in the same homes with those who are there because of a lack of alternative placing.

• Secure units should be set up to cater for children with mental problems, avoiding the need to admit them to psychiatric hospitals.

• Children who are taken from their parents should receive a psychological assessment to identify their needs and start any therapy. Studies show children who live in residential homes have a higher probability of developing mental problems.

• The development of fostering should be emphasised and babies and toddlers under two should be put into foster care rather than residential homes.