Transcript “Reform of the Child Care System: Taking Stock and Accelerating Action” South East Europe 3 – 6 July 2007, Sofia.

“Reform of the Child Care System:
Taking Stock and Accelerating Action”
South East Europe
3 – 6 July 2007, Sofia
“Reform of the
Child Care
System: Taking
Stock and
Accelerating
Action”
South East
Europe
3 – 6 July 2007,
Sofia
Assuring quality of the child care
services
3 – 6 July 2007, Sofia
Vesela Banova
Deputy Chairperson of the
State Agency for Child Protection
Bulgaria
International legal acts and national
legislation

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Article 3:
1. In all actions concerning
children,
whether
undertaken by public or
private
social
welfare
institutions, courts of law,
administrative authorities or
legislative bodies, the best
interests of the child shall be
a primary consideration.
International legal acts and national
legislation
3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions,
services and facilities responsible for the care or
protection of children shall conform with the standards
established by competent authorities, particularly in the
areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of
their staff, as well as competent supervision
Questionnaire on the implementation
evaluation
Did the State covered all public and private
organisations,
authorities
and
services,
responsible for the child protection and care in
order to assure that official, already established
standards have been complied with? These are:



safety;
health;
child protection against all forms of violence and
aggression;
 number and suitability of the staff;
 compliance with all Convention’s provisions;
 independent inspection and supervision.
Conclusion
Social child
care services
standards
shall be
introduced in
order to
assure
recognition of
the rights of
the child
when using
the service
National legislation
 The quality of the health care is based on medical
standards, approved by the Law on the health care
establishments and the Rules on the good medical
practice, approved by the Law on the professional
organisations of doctors and dentists.
 Standards in education shall be introduced by the State
educational requirements pursuant to the Law on the
public education.
 Social care standards: Article 4, paragraph 3 of the Law
on the child protection: “Criteria and standards for social
services for children regarding application of the
measures under paragraph 1, points 1, 2, 4 and 5, shall
be set out in a Regulation, which shall be adopted by the
Council of Ministers on a proposal from the Minister of
labour and social policy .”
Objectives
 Introduction of social child care services standards is
not self-orientated process. It is a part of integral
regulatory mechanism, which objectives are:

to promote social
development in Bulgaria;
entrepreneurship
 to assure to social services consumers the
necessary quality of the social service, which to
guarantee the achievement of its objectives.
Monitoring system of the quality of social
child care services
 Legally based quality standards: Ordinance
on the criteria and standards for the social
child care services;
 Licensing regime for social child care
services providers;
 Control over the observance of the social
child care services standards.
STANDARDS
 The
Ordinance on the criteria and
standards for the social child care services
regulates the standards for social services in
implementation of the following child
protection measures:
1. assistance, support and services for the
family;
2. placement with families of relatives or
friends;
3. placement with foster family;
4. placement in specialised institution.
For whom the standards are
obligatory?
 The social child care services
standards are obligatory for:

the State;
the municipalities;
 natural persons, registered under the Law on
the Trade and for legal entities, licensed under
Article 43b of the Law on the child protection.

Conclusion
The standards have been
developed as common
result orientated rules.
They
provide
wide
operative independence to
the social service provider
to achieve the required
result through activities
and procedures, which
correspond to its concepts
and capacity.
Licensing
 Licensing
of the social child care service
providers is a part of the reform of the child care
system.
 It is a process focused on development of social
services net as a response to the children and
family needs of support in certain community.
Licensing
 The Chairperson of the State Agency for Child
Protection shall issue license for provision of social
child care services pursuant to Article 43b of the Law
on the child protection
 According to Article 18, paragraph 1, points 1 and 3
of the Law on the social assistance, social services
shall be provided by Bulgarian natural persons,
registered under the Law on the Trade and legal
entities, as well as by foreign natural persons and
legal entities from the EU Member States, or from
EEA countries, registered as traders in compliance
with their national legislation, which are subject of
licensing.
Licensing
 In order to receive a license it is necessary
organisations or persons, desiring to provide social
services for children up to 18 years to submit an
application to the Chairperson of the SACP along
with the papers required pursuant to Article 34,
paragraph 3 of the Law on the child protection.
Interinstitutional commission shall examine the
applications and shall take decisions by preparing
a motivated proposal to the Chairperson of the
SACP to issue or refuse to issue a license.
 The license shall be issued in case the applicant
meets the requirements under Article 43c of the
Law on the child protection
Licensing
 The license may be withdrawn in case:
- the service has not begun to be provided for 12
months since the date of the issue of the license.
- the social child care standards have not been
observed; an activity has been performed infringing the
received license.
A license may be refused in case the applicant does not
meet the requirements under Article 43c of the Law on
the child protection.
 The organisations may provide social child care
services after receiving a license and being entered in
the register under the procedure set out in the Law on
the social assistance.
 The license shall be issued for a period of 5 years.
CONTROL
The Chairperson of the State Agency for Child
Protection in person or through authorised officials
controls:
 observation of the quality standards for social child care
services;
 recognition of the rights of the child by all state,
municipal and private schools, kindergartens and
nurseries, service units, health establishments, social
assistance directorates, specialised institutions, social
child care service providers and non-profit legal entities,
working in the field of child protection;
CONTROL
The control shall be exercised through:
1. planned and scheduled inspections,
approved by the Chairperson of the State
Agency for Child Protection;
2. checks on signals for infringements of the
quality standards of the social child care
services.
PLANNED INSPECTIONS
 In 74 specialised schools and specialised
boarding-schools, on guarantees of the right
of education to children in specialised schools.
 In 24 social pedagogical boarding-schools
and penitentiary boarding-school, on
guarantees of the right to live in family
environment.
 In 59 day centres for children with
disabilities on observation of the standards.
 9 SEPI on observation of the standards
CHECKS ON SIGNALS
 2004 – 20.
 2005 – 40.
 2006 – 61.
 Until June 2007 – 67.
INSPECTIONS
 The results from the planned inspections
shall be published.
They outlined many problem areas and
proposed system development directions,
including amendments to the Ordinance on
the criteria and standards for the social child
care services.
Development of the National
information system (NIS) – Data base
of the monitoring of the child care and
protection system
 According to Article 17, point 9 of the Law
on the child protection a data base shall be
established and maintained.
 Child protection data base. Scope.
 Structure
Structure of the Child Protection Information
System
 The administrative structure is as follows
1.
2.
3.
Level – CPD/ SAD
Level – RSAD
Level – SACP
CONCLUSION
 The objective of the Social Child Care
Services Monitoring System is to support
the development of various and sufficient
services, which to be of a good quality to
assure recognition of the rights of every
child as services consumer.
 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!