site.btaSome 34,000 Alerts Submitted to Social Services in Bulgaria in 2023

Nearly 34,000 alerts of various kinds have been submitted to social services in Bulgaria in 2023, Nadya Taneva, Executive Director of the Agency for Social Assistance, told BTA. Some 1,400 of those alerts were for child abuse. The severity of the alerts varies and not every alert is converted into case, she explained.

Taneva warned that psychological child abuse is the most difficult to catch. She urged citizens who believe there are troubling circumstances surrounding a child's condition to not hesitate and contact social workers. If there is a crisis situation in a family, the social workers’ priority is to first remove the child from the risky environment in which he or she is living, and then begin working with the parents, the expert explained.

"Any parent or specialist who works with children can refer to the Child Protection Department or the relevant director of directorate to share their concern or problem and the social workers will respond immediately," Taneva noted, adding that an alert can be submitted via email or over the phone.

Commenting on the possibilities for improving the Agency's operations, Taneva said that a project is envisaged to introduce profile trainings, including trainings for working on child abuse cases, for prevention, for working with adoptive and foster families, for preparing reports to the court, among others.

There would be induction and upgrading trainings to enable social workers to improve their competencies, she said.