Instead of being referred to institutions for accommodation, such as the Bijela Children's Home, children without parental care between the ages of zero and three, with the support of the social and child welfare system, should remain in the family or be referred to foster families, it was announced today from of UNICEF in Montenegro.
The announcement adds that Montenegro was the first country in the region that did not have children under the age of three placed in institutions, but this is no longer the case.
"More than 50 years of research show that children placed in institutions in early childhood are exposed to the risk of developmental delays - this can only be compensated by care in a loving family environment. For this reason, UNICEF calls for ensuring that no child in Montenegro under the age of three will not be placed in an institution," said the head of UNICEF's representative office for Montenegro, Juan Santander.
The announcement states that as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Montenegro has committed itself to enabling every girl and every boy to exercise their right to grow up in a safe family environment.
"One of the criteria for the accession process of Montenegro to the European Union is that there are no children under the age of three in institutions. In the last European Union Progress Report, the need to speed up the reform of the social and child welfare system was emphasized in order to provide every child with quality family him," reads the UNICEF press release.
"We call on all relevant institutions of Montenegro to enable every child in Montenegro to exercise their right to grow up in a warm family environment. Montenegro should encourage the further development of foster care and adoption of children. Placement in a family of every child who does not have adequate parental care and is younger from three years should be an urgent national priority", said Oana Kristina Popa, Ambassador of the European Union to Montenegro.
UNICEF said that the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is working on the development of the first Deinstitutionalization Strategy, the goal of which is to replace the placement of children in institutions with care in the family.
"This strategy should focus on strengthening the mechanisms for preventing the separation of children from families, as well as on strengthening the foster care system in Montenegro. It is necessary to further promote and develop non-relative foster care. It is also necessary to urgently develop foster care with intensive support (so-called specialized foster care) for children with developmental disabilities and emergency foster care for children under the age of three and children who are victims of violence," he pointed out Siniša Bjeković, protector of human rights and freedoms of Montenegro.
UNICEF said that it is crucial to prevent the separation of children from their biological families by providing quality support to families when they are in crisis and from the very beginning of the crisis.
"The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare must urgently invest in the development and sustainability of support programs for families at risk of child and family separation - which will prevent children from being placed in institutions." iglass is Ivana Vujović from the non-governmental organization (NGO) Juventas.
UNICEF said that during the past decades, UNICEF and the European Union have supported the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in reforming the social and child protection system.
"As a result, the Law on Social and Child Protection prohibits placing children under the age of three in institutions, except in cases where it is a temporary measure of last resort," the announcement concludes.
Bonus video:
