This week, Minister Alonso has commented to the media that in the coming days he will be presented to the Council of Ministers the latest draft of the reform of the Child Protection Law, whose last modification is from last December 12.
We are going to analyze their main points, such as changes in the adoption law, the protection of minors and their rights and duties.
Adoption and foster care of children, what has changed?
This is one of the points that may have undergone more modifications. And so we found some changes like:
International adoptions will become matters of state, specifically from the Foreign Ministry. So far each Autonomous Community set its own standards, countries in which it could be adopted and in which it could not, etc. With the new law this disappears and becomes the Central administration the one that will take care of it. This is a point where some discrepancy between the different political groups is expected.
Some are also incorporated obligations of adopters, such as collaboration in the monitoring of children by the country of origin.
No ties will be cut after adoption: Currently, once the adoption was made official, the ties and contact with the biological family disappeared, this caused many families to be reluctant to accept the adoption of any of their members, with these new changes these ties are not cut and can always be maintained That the three parties involved (adopters, biological family and minor) agree.
The maximum age to be able to access adoptions will be 45 years.
On foster care: The ultimate goal of the law is the protection of the child and as such, it involves trying to keep the child within the family environment and if this is not possible, then the best family will have to be chosen for each case. That is why stable solutions, such as host families, will prevail over temporary ones such as reception centers, as well as the preference for consensual measures between the parties over those imposed in arbitration or national ones over international ones, which It will make a child can be adopted when it is not possible to return him to his country of origin with sufficient guarantees.
As a consequence of this preference for foster care, the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality intends to directly refer families to all children under six years of age and who do not have to go through the shelters and in case they have Brothers will preferably look for ways not to separate them, as long as this option is possible.
On the other hand, the constitution of foster care is simplified, so that the intervention of a judge will not be mandatory, and the Family Welfare Statute, which will include the right of these to be heard by the public entity before issuing any resolution that affects the child.
These principles had already been established in the Guidelines on alternative modalities of childcare for children. United Nations General Assembly of February 24, 2010 and in various documents approved by the International Social Service.
Another axis of this reform: the obligation of the Public Entities to review, in concrete terms, the protection measures adopted. In this way it is forced to carry out a personal monitoring of each child and a review of the protection measure.
For the first time Situations of minors at risk and homelessness are defined within a state level rule, the latter being determined by abandonment, risk to life, health or physical integrity; or the induction to begging, crime or prostitution.
On the occasion of this helplessness, the guardianship of the minor by the competent entity is contemplated. If said guardianship is postponed more than two years without the biological parents having tried to revoke this situation, it will be the Prosecutor's Office and not them, who may challenge this measure, being able to adopt any measure they deem necessary for the protection of the child, including the adoption permanent. In this case, parental authorization will not be necessary to initiate the process.
The voluntary guardianship has a maximum duration of two years. This guard is the one that the parents go voluntarily when they cannot take care of the minor. To date this guard was sine die, parents could leave their children for as long as necessary, and may even be years. Understanding that a minor, especially the first years, with whom he should be is with his parents, this guardian is reduced to a maximum of two years. If after that time, the minor cannot return home, the appropriate measures will be taken to stabilize his situation, considering the child's declaration of helplessness with the subsequent subsequent adoption.
The types of foster care would be in:
- Urgently: It is reserved for children under six years and with a maximum duration of six months.
- Temporary: maximum duration of two years and will be resolved when the family's reintegration of the child or the adoption of a more stable measure, such as adoption, is foreseen.
- Permanent: It will be constituted after two years of temporary foster care and will take place when family reintegration is not possible or in cases of children with special needs, if circumstances advise.
Rights and duties of minors
This reform promotes the participation of minors through the right to be heard and heard, which includes children under twelve provided they have sufficient maturity. In this way, in each process in which a minor intervenes, it must be expressed if its opinion has been taken into account. This case, at present, depends on the Autonomous Communities, now becoming a state norm.
Thus, for example, in the divorce proceedings in which they are involved, their opinion must be heard and taken into account in their proper measure.
Also, in the case where a minor must testify in a trial, he will not have to do so before more than one instance, thus avoiding what is called "secondary victimization".
The norm also proposes a set of obligations for the minor in relation to the family, school and social spheres: respect for parents, siblings, teachers; Respect for the dignity, integrity and privacy of the people with whom they relate, etc.
For the first time, foster care is regulated in centers for minors with behavioral problems, ascending violence (from children to parents) and disruptive behaviors, which will have an educational character.
Objective, avoid child abuse
One of the measures dictated by this new standard and that is already being applied by several European countries is the obligation to prove the absence of a history of child abuse for every professional who works with children, from teachers in schools, nurseries, to swimming monitors. This accreditation is done through a certificate issued by the Central Registry of Penalties.
Large families
The rule states that a family will not lose their large family status until the youngest of the children has turned 21, or 26 if they are studying.
Protection against gender violence
In cases where a mother is subjected to abuse and violence by her partner, her children will also be considered as direct victims of such violence and protected accordingly.
Right of access to the origins of adopted children
Every adopted child will have the right to know their origins, once they have reached the age of majority or before through their representatives, by accessing their file where they will keep the data regarding the name of their biological parents, their medical history or that of his family. These data must be kept for 50 years.
