Four siblings who were placed under a care order then went through another trauma when they were separated due to lack of space in a home, Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said yesterday.

In some institutes they told us that they saw generations pass through the system

“Can you imagine? They ended up in the four corners of Malta.

“This proves the fact that there is something structurally wrong. This is why we are carrying out audits of the system.

“Why do we have a situation where we have children under care orders but no space for them?” she asked during a conference on pensions organised by the General Workers’ Union.

Her comments followed replies she gave to a parliamentary question tabled by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.

The information given in Parliament shows there were 42 children, all Maltese, under a care order but still waiting for a placement.

Three of them were unborn and 11 were aged between one and five. There are 563 children who live in out-of-home care.

Of these, 264 are in foster care, including 10 children who were born to parents of various nationalities.

Another 198 children are living in residential homes and 59 with relatives or family friends.

Ms Coleiro Preca said she recently went to one of the homes and was saddened to hear the people running it speak about the children they saw pass through the system.

“It pained me to hear them speak about a particular child on care order whose mother came from a family of 10 who were all on care orders.

“In some institutes they told us that they saw generations pass through the system: the grandfather, the father and, now, the son, all having the same fate,” she said.

She stressed that the Labour Government would work hard to ensure that this issue was addressed.

Ms Coleiro Preca has said she was looking into the possibility of freeing up children for adoption, a step that would lead to having fewer in out-of-home care.

As things stand, for a child in a residential home to be adopted there first has to be an adoption request. If that is considered to be in the child’s interest, the consent of the biological parents is sought.

If the parents refuse, the court can only dispense of parental rights under specific legal criteria. These include instances of abuse and neglect and mental incapacity to decide.