Family Minister Michael Falzon launched the national children’s policy on Universal Children’s Day. The policy is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and contains 110 proposals on how these rights should be upheld in Malta.
The policy document is ambitious in scope and covers five main sectors: the home environment; social well-being; health and environment; education and employment; and leisure and culture. The policy aims to set the tone for children to grow up in a safe and protected environment that would allow them to realise their full potential. Children aged four to 17 years have been consulted to ensure it would reflect minors’ rights.
There can be no doubt that the government’s heart is in the right place. By focusing attention on the physical, psychological and socio-economic aspects of the life of the child, the policy hopes to implement a number of actions under four key areas affecting a child’s life: health and environment, family and relationships, education and development and community and State.
The concluding remarks encapsulate the hopes underpinning the national policy document: “The ultimate aim of such a policy is to work towards the realisation of the full potential and well-being of all children while encouraging society to foster respect and value for every child, regardless of their characteristics, abilities and socio-economic background… Only through reaching a synergy between children’s rights and children’s responsibilities can social cohesion and social well-being be ensured.”
The problem, however, as one studies the 110 proposals found in the policy, is that they are on the whole too nebulous. They are too broadly drafted to comprise a focused, realisable and measurable policy. Take, for example: “Deliver better and more cost-effective public services through greater use of alternative or innovative service delivery models.” Or: “Ensure that legislation, policies and services that affect children are systematically reviewed.”
Which department, and who within it, will actually lead to ensure these proposals are implemented? The policy proposes, for example, that the State should “ensure there is equity of access to mental health services” and that it should create greater awareness of child safety and injury prevention. Yet, it is unclear how these and other proposals will be measured or achieved.
The statement in the section dealing with ‘Implementation and review’ that the children’s policy “is aimed to extend until the year 2024” does not fill one with confidence that this is a policy with key objectives having serious and determined end-dates for delivery.
“In the year 2024, an independent, overall evaluation will be conducted on the overall impact of the implemented policy actions,” after which a new national policy will be drafted. While, naturally, it is appreciated that many of the policy objectives take time to mature, the timescale appears to be too leisurely.
These are the underlying flaws in this well-intentioned policy document. Nowhere is there an indication of who is specifically responsible for delivering each policy objective. It appears more like ticking another box in the government’s To Do list. Clear accountability is lacking. Remedial action to correct these gaps should be taken now if the policy is to really work.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial