It is with this caveat in mind that the Assembly reiterates
the recommendations it made in
and recommends
that Council of Europe member States focus on the process in order
to achieve the best results for children and their families alike.
Member States should:
5.1 ensure
child-friendly processes throughout removal, placement and reunification:
this includes guaranteeing full child participation by having properly
trained and educated staff speak to, and listen to, the child, whose
views should not only be heard, but also taken into account as long
as this view is not against the best interests of the child;
5.2 give the necessary support to families in a timely and
positive manner with a view to avoiding the necessity for removal
decisions in the first place, and to facilitating family reunification
when possible and in the child’s best interests: this includes the
need to build better collaboration with parents, with a view to
avoiding possible mistakes based on misunderstandings, stereotyping
and discrimination. These mistakes can be difficult to correct once
trust has been lost;
5.3 ensure that child welfare systems are open and transparent
with a view to bolstering the legitimacy of and trust in the system;
this includes the necessity for decisions to be well documented
at all stages of the process and for court proceedings to be low
threshold, child friendly and accessible, as well as for improved
data collection and research;
5.4 ensure that all personnel involved in removal and placement
decisions, including judges, are suitably qualified and regularly
trained (including on international and European standards), have sufficient
resources to take decisions in an appropriate time frame, and are
not overburdened with too heavy a caseload;
5.5 seek to keep to a minimum, and use only in extreme cases,
the practices of removing children from parental care at birth,
basing placement decisions on the effluxion of time and adoptions
without parental consent. Where it is in the child’s best interests,
efforts should be made to maintain family ties;
5.6 where the decision to remove a child from their family
has been made, ensure that:
5.6.1 such decisions are a
proportionate response to a credible and verified assessment by competent
authorities, subject to judicial review, that there is a real risk
of actual and serious harm to the children involved;
5.6.2 a detailed decision is provided to the parents and a copy
of the decision is also retained; that the decision is explained
in an age-appropriate way to the child or that the child is otherwise granted
access to the decision. The decision should outline the circumstances
that led to the determination and provide reasons for the removal;
5.6.3 removing children is a last resort and is only applied
for the necessary period of time;
5.6.4 siblings are kept together in care in all cases where
it is not against the best interests of the child;
5.6.5 as long as it is in the best interests of the child, children
are cared for within the wider family unit so as to minimise the
disruption of family bonds for the children involved;
5.6.6 regular consideration is given to family reunification
and/or family access as is appropriate taking into account the best
interests and views of the child;
5.6.7 visitation and contact arrangements facilitate the maintenance
of family bonds and work towards reunification, unless manifestly
inappropriate;
5.6.8 all related court proceedings are independent, with the
equality of arms guaranteed, as well as parity between the resources
available to the family and to the child welfare system;
5.6.9 religious, ethnic and cultural background and sibling
bonds are taken into account when placing children in alternative
care;
5.7 ensure appropriate checks and balances are built into
the child welfare system, including regulatory oversight and parliamentary
scrutiny, where necessary.
