site.btaAlmost Twice as Many Children at Risk Raised in Family Environment than by Social Services

Around twice as many children at risk are being raised in a family environment than by the social services. Nearly half of children at risk, not raised in their biological families, are adopted by families of relatives. According to the Social Assistance Agency's 2023 data, in two-thirds of cases social workers are able to support families in raising their children at home, the Labour and Social Policy Ministry said here on Friday.

As of the end of December 2023, 4,055 children were raised in the families of relatives and 1,515 in foster care. At the end of last year, 3,002 children were raised by residential care social services, most of them being in family-type accommodation centers - 2,752. There were 119 children living in crisis centers and 131 in transitional housing.

Work on new 3,570 cases for prevention of abandonment has started in 2023, of which 2,706 were completed successfully.

The protection measure is completely focused on the interests and rights of the child with the priority being to raise children in a family environment.

Adopting a child under the Child Protection Act happens only in cases where parents don't understand or neglect the needs of their children, expose them to risk, violence, or fail to provide a safe and secure environment for the development of their children.

The aim is for the child to be raised by people with whom they have an emotional bond. If there are no such people, only then can a child be adopted by a foster family or social service. Once a child is taken out of their family because of their parents' incompetence, the work with the parents continues. The most important goal of social work is to reintegrate the child into their biological family.