Five-year-old Katya* can no longer see from her left eye because no one took her to a doctor to check out a condition that could have been treated.

Katya was taken to her foster carers with lice in her hair, bruises and cigarette burns on her body

Her ailment was only seen to a year ago when she was placed in foster care after an order was issued to remove her from her abusive parents.

“Had there not been delays in the decision-making process on whether a care order should have been issued, she would be able to use both eyes today,” social worker and foster carer Daniella Zerafa said during a conference themed The Rights Of The Child In Foster Care.

Ms Zerafa used the true story of the little girl, who she referred to by the fictitious name of Katya, to illustrate shortcomings in the system, starting with delays in decision-making.

Social workers had been following the girl’s case for three years before it was decided to remove her from her family.

“Katya was taken to her foster carers with lice in her hair, bruises and cigarette burns on her body and a really bad nappy rash since no one had toilet-trained her,” Ms Zerafa said in an emotional presentation.

The child also had to deal with the psychological trauma after experiencing years of abuse and neglect.

Katya has been in foster care for a year and, during this time, she had weekly supervised meetings with her parents, who still have serious social problems.

“Contact with the birth parents should not be assumed to always be the best thing for the child,” Ms Zerafa said.

Following an access visit, Katya often returned to her foster carers with red, swollen eyes from crying so much and woke up in the middle of the night scared.

It eventually emerged that Katya’s parents told her she was not allowed to love her foster carers and that they did not love her.

Ms Zerafa, who lectures at the University of Malta, said the access system had to be revised.

Recommendations by the Children and Young Persons Advisory Board in relation to contact with family members were not always adhered to.

Ms Zerafa said it was unfortunate to see that no criminal action had been taken against the parents for abusing and neglecting Katya.

Another problem she highlighted was the fact that although Maltese law technically allowed the Government to strip parents of parental rights, in cases of abuse this was not done in prac-tice. As a result, children were not being allowed to be adopted to live in a stable home.

Family Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said the Government put the rights of children at the centre of its policies. She would work to ensure children were given a stronger voice and those in care would be freed up for adoption.

There were about 600 children who lived in out-of-home care, including 230 who were being fostered.

Ms Coleiro Preca spoke about enacting the Children’s Act, having a charter on the rights of the child and introd-ucing a children’s policy following extensive consultation.

As Ms Zerafa pointed out in her presentation, time was of the essence and children could not be left waiting for legal protection.

“The burns heal, the bruises disappear but the psychological impact is still there and will remain with her for the rest of her life… Katya, and other children like her, are carrying the burden of the gaps in the system,” she said.

*Names have been changed