Alternative care for the minor deprived of the family environment

• Author: Melo Ilda
• Position: Dr. Law Faculty, Tirana University, Civil Department
• Pages: 1-3

ALTERNATIVE CARE FOR THE MINOR DEPRIVED

OF THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT

Ilda Melo

Abstract

Alternative car e is provided to be a social and legal solution for children’s welfare when for different

reasons they a re deprived of the family environment. In this paper will give the social and legal overview of

foster car e, as a new alter native care in the Albanian reality, its advanta ges in the backgrounds o f the Albanian

reality and the state’s role.

Key words: foster car e, foster family, guardia nship, minor, sta ndard, service.

Introduction

The human rights, their observance and pr otection in the evolving human society comprise now the

basic principles on basis of which the corpus of the international law is built up. Among them, recently it is

always noticed a greater emphasize on protection of children r ights, recognized by law, since the moment of

their birth, b ut unable to be exercised by them until they become adult. There ar e the parents of the child who, by

exercising their parental r esponsibilities, are a ble to achieve their r ights and accomplish their duties acting like

his lega l representa tives. But we often can be found in a situa tion when these children ar e outside the parents

care bec ause of the inability of their na tural par ents to exercise the pa rental responsibility.

Legal framework of foster care service

The lack of parent care and consequently of the legal representative in relation to third parties put at

stake the minor to achieve his rights. Finding the alternative care for them is one of the great challenges for the

society. In the Albanian reality, after the years 90’, we are found evermore before the negative consequences

derived from social phenomena faced b y the Albanian society nowadays. Unemployment, extreme poverty

especially in rural or mountain areas, immigration, social familiar conflicts, divorces comprise some of the social

phenomena, which have negatively influenced on increase of the number of children remained outside the parent

care. Mostly, they are placed under the informal care of their relatives a t best or are found abandoned in the

street, thus exposed toward criminality and prostitution at worst.

Unfortunately we don’t have any ac curate records related to the number of children outside the parent

care who are under informal care. The majority of them are under care of their relatives which de facto take care

of the minors, without having the legal custody over the m. Another part of them, due to unchecked immigration

of people from mountain areas to urban populated areas, results to be still unregistered in the civil registry office.

Accordingly, these categories can not benefit from social services provided. Regarding the minors’ care

records in the formal system, the State Social Service estimates that, in comparison with other countries of the

region, Albania has a small number of children living in residential institutions but the pheno menon has a

tendency to get higher, meanwhile the c hildren categories have changed as well. In 1994, the number of childre n

under residential care was about 400 and the majority of them were abandoned children since birth and

biological orphans. Records in 2011 indicate that the number of children in children’s care institutions is

increased thrice in comparison with the year 1994 and that the majority of the children are “social orphans”

1 and

"children with social problems”.

The increasing number o f minors outside the par ents care and the social issues borne by this

phenomenon obliges the Albanian lawmaker and executive structures to reform the social custodial system.

Based o n the child’s hi ghest interest principle, UN Convention on the child rights lays emphasis on taking o f

appropriate executive and administrative decisive measures for protection of rights of the children outside the

parents care.

The Albanian lawmaker has applied this principle through legal provisions in legislation starting from

constitutional provisions. art. 54 and 59 of the Albanian Constitution provides for the assurance of a special

protection for social vulnerable categories such as mothers or children, elders etc. The Albania n lawmaker has

selected the guard ianship among other alternative forms of caring, such as adoption, as a legal solution for

protection and representation of minors in relatio n to the third parties. The legal adjustment of this institute is

treated in provisions of the Family Code and by-laws for its enforcement.

The new Family Code of 2003 brings a rage of innovations with regard to social care system toward the

 Dr. Law Faculty, Tirana

University,

Civil Department, e-mail: ildamelo@yahoo.com

1 Social orphans are considered the minors outside the parent care, whose

natural parents

live but due to physical or financial reasons are not

able to take care of them.