Guardians will be appointed to oversee the wellbeing of children who are under a care order as well as unaccompanied minors, according to a proposed legal amendment.
These guardians will be given legal responsibilities and will be able to take decisions, said Beryl Buttigieg who is a legal coordinator within the Family Ministry.
This means a foster carer would be able to obtain permission from the guardian to take the child abroad on holiday.
According a bill being debated in Parliament, foster carers have to file a court application to obtain permission.
This, Dr Buttigieg said, would speed up the process for foster carers and free up time for the courts.
She explained that details, which included who would be eligible to be a guardian, were still being discussed.
26 - Percentage of boat arrivals in the first five months of 2014 who were unaccompanied minors
Discussions were also ongoing as to whether these guardians – for children under care orders and unaccompanied minors – would fall under the existing Guardianship Board set up last year to appoint legal guardians for people with intellectual disabilities. There are an estimated 400 children under care orders, according to recent figures.
Dr Buttigieg was outlining a series of amendments to be proposed to the draft Bill on children in out-of-home care. The Bill was on Parliament’s agenda to start being debated last month, but the discussion did not take place.
A spokeswoman for the Family Ministry said the exact date for the discussion could not be provided at this stage “because the Bill is currently being thoroughly amended”.
“We are, however, at the final stages.”
Speaking to Times of Malta, Dr Buttigieg elaborated that the amendments included strengthening parental responsibility contracts.
These contracts are currently used by government support agency Appoġġ and involve reaching an agreement with parents listing changes they must make if their child is to remain in their care.
The plan was to give these contracts a legal standing so that, if breached, the Child Protection Unit could be able to intervene.
Another important amendment, she said, included involving the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (Awas) in processing cases of unaccompanied minors.
The agency had lots of resources that could be used in such cases.
According to an Awas report, 26 per cent of boat arrivals in the first five months of 2014 were unaccompanied minors.
Asked if there would be any amendments to provisions on fostering and adoption she said they were currently being discussed.
The Bill, in its current form, proposes long-awaited amendments that could free children for adoption.
Under the current proposal, biological parents of children living in residential care, who refuse to free them for adoption despite not being present in their lives, could have the children taken away.
This would put an end to an unfair system that leaves children in residential care blocked there for years.
It is not clear whether this provision will be amended but the spokeswoman said the government planned to establish a Fostering and Adoption centre that would also offer training and support services.
Asked about when the amendments would be concluded, the spokeswoman said: “This government is fully committed to put forward all the necessary changes.
“We are here to give voice to families and we beleive that where change is due, it needs to get priority.”