Family and Social Policy Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said this afternoon that this country needs to discuss problems facing Malta’s children, with the number of those in out-of-home care having doubled to over 600 in a few years.

Speaking in parliament, she said a substantial number of children were also in foster care and there was a long waiting list of children seeking assistance from Appogg.

“What is happening in our society, among our families? We need a holistic approach to identify and tackle these problems, it is not a question of finding new places for these children,” she said.

  The Child Protection Programme, she said, had 212 boys and girls who had been suffering abuse or neglect. 68 children were awaiting a care plan or implementation of their care plan.

  There was also need for a shelter and an assistance programme for children once they moved out of institutes or care homes.  

SOCIAL HOUSING

Turning to social housing, the minister said 3,800 were waiting for social housing, with some having been on the list for as long as 21 years. She said that 730 families were living in structures seen as being dangerous.

And yet the Housing Authority had no housing stock, no strategy no plans.

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