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Resolution 2049 (2015)
Social services in Europe: legislation and practice of the removal of children from their families in Council of Europe member States
1. Children have the right to be protected
from all types of violence, abuse and neglect. But they also have the
right not to be separated from their parents against their will,
except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine
that such separation is necessary in the best interests of the child.
Even when such separation is necessary, children have the right
to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents
on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best
interests.
2. In most Council of Europe member States, it is the social
services which take the initial decision to remove a child from
his or her family (in particular in urgent cases where the child
is deemed to be in immediate danger), or which apply to the court
to have such a decision taken. In the majority of member States,
this initial decision is taken on the basis of the child being judged
to be at risk or imminent risk of suffering serious harm, in particular
physical, sexual or psychological abuse, or of being badly neglected.
3. The number of children taken into care varies widely from
country to country, as does the percentage of children taken into
care who are later reunited with their family. Most countries place
children with relatives, with foster families, in public or private
institutions, or – more rarely – give them up for adoption (again
with varying percentages).
4. Most countries do not have detailed statistics on the ethnic
and religious minority status, immigrant status or socio-economic
situation of children taken into care. Statistical analyses providing
an authentic picture of which groups of children are more exposed
to being removed from their families are also lacking, although evidence
suggests that children from vulnerable groups are disproportionately
represented in the care population of member States. There is, however,
no evidence to suggest that, in similar contexts, parents who are
poor, less educated, belong to an ethnic or religious minority or
who have a migration background are more likely to abuse or neglect
their children.
5. Financial and material poverty should never be the only justification
for the removal of a child from parental care, but should be seen
as a sign for the need to provide appropriate support to the family.
Moreover, showing that a child could be placed in a more beneficial
environment for his or her upbringing is not enough to remove a
child from his or her parents, and even less of a reason to sever
family ties completely.
6. The Parliamentary Assembly is concerned about the violation
of children’s rights in some countries (or regions thereof), when
social services take some children into care too rashly and do not
make enough effort to support families before and/or after removal
and placement decisions. These unwarranted decisions usually have
a – sometimes unintended – discriminatory character, and can constitute
serious violations of the rights of the child and his or her parents,
which are made all the more tragic when the decisions are irreversible
(such as in cases of adoption without parental consent).
7. The Assembly is also concerned about the violation of children’s
rights in some countries (or regions thereof), when social services
do not take children into care quickly enough, and return children
too rashly to abusive or neglectful parents. These decisions can
constitute equally – or more – serious violations of the rights of
the child, and can put his or her life and health in danger. Removal
decisions taken by social services are very fraught, and should
thus only be taken by social workers with special professional training
and qualifications, an appropriate caseload and in an appropriate
time frame.
8. The Assembly thus recommends that member States:
8.1. sign and/or ratify, if they
have not yet done so, the relevant conventions of the Council of
Europe relating to the rights of children, most notably the European
Convention on the Adoption of Children (Revised) (CETS No. 202)
and the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (ETS No. 160),
and implement all pertinent recommendations emanating from the Committee
of Ministers;
8.2. put into place laws, regulations and procedures which
truly put the best interest of the child first in removal, placement
and reunification decisions;
8.3. continue and strengthen their efforts to ensure that all
relevant procedures are conducted in a child-friendly manner, and
that the children concerned have their views taken into account
according to their age and level of maturity;
8.4. make visible and root out the influence of prejudice and
discrimination in removal decisions, including by appropriately
training all professionals involved;
8.5. support families with the necessary means (including financially,
materially, socially and psychologically) in order to avoid unwarranted
removal decisions in the first place, and in order to increase the
percentage of successful family reunifications after care;
8.6. ensure that any (temporary) placement of a child in alternative
care, where it has become necessary as a measure of last resort,
be accompanied by measures aimed at the child’s subsequent reintegration
into the family, including the facilitation of appropriate contact
between the child and his or her family, and be subject to periodic
review;
8.7. avoid, except in exceptional circumstances provided for
in law and subject to effective (timely and comprehensive) judicial
review, severing family ties completely, removing children from
parental care at birth, basing placement decisions on the effluxion
of time, and having recourse to adoptions without parental consent;
8.8. ensure that the personnel involved in removal and placement
decisions are guided by appropriate criteria and standards (if possible
in a multidisciplinary way), are suitably qualified and regularly
trained, have sufficient resources to take decisions in an appropriate
time frame, and are not overburdened with too great a caseload;
8.9. collect anonymised data on the population in care in member
States which is disaggregated not only by age and gender and alternative
care type, but also by ethnic or religious minority status, immigrant
status and socio-economic background, as well as by length of time
spent in care until family reunification, while ensuring the effective
protection of personal data;
8.10. ensure that, except in urgent cases, initial removal decisions
are based only on court orders, in order to avoid unwarranted removal
decisions and to prevent biased assessments.