Children cannot spend years in care waiting for someone to decide their future, and a new protection law should ensure that never happens, social workers insist. The Maltese Association of Social Workers (MASW) is calling for a law that includes clear deadlines within which professionals will have to submit plans for children in out-of-home care. […]
Read more
Don’t force children to speak in front of abusers
Lawyer Daniela Azzopardi says the new child protection law should ensure that children who have been abused by their relatives are not forced to speak out in front of them. 6.20pm – Updated with social workers’ association views A planned new child protection law should ensure that children abused by their relatives are not forced […]
Read more
500 tifel u tifla għand foster families f’Malta
Il-Kap tal-Foster Care Team, John Rolè, it-Tnejn qal lil-laqgħa tal-Kumitat Parlamentari dwar l-Affarijiet Soċjali, li minn meta nbeda s-servizz fl-1996 kien hemm 29 foster carer u llum Malta hija l-uniku pajjiż fl-Ewropa li ttriplikat dan l-ammont ta’ foster carers. Illum hawn 500 tifel u tifla li ġew fdati f’foster families. Rolè qal li fl-1996 ħadd […]
Read more
Social Affairs Committee Meeting
Malta tripled the number of foster carers, the only country in Europe. During a parliament committee meeting on Social Affairs John Role head of Foster Care Team said that Malta is the only country in Europe that has tripled the number of foster carers. This is a fact and Malta should be proud of such […]
Read more
Good to know the children you care for are in safe hands
Foster parents are ‘delighted’ when children in their care are safely returned to their natural parents. However, they will put their foot down when years roll by and they remain without a place they can permanently call home, Patricia Graham and Charles Sammut tell Sarah Carabott. “How would you like it if a stranger comes to your house, where you […]
Read more
Foster parents appeal to get permanent care of children they care for
Mistreated children are deprived of rights usually granted to victims of abuse and are often forced into meeting or going back to live with the perpetrators, according to the National Foster Care Association. “Victims of domestic violence are not forced to meet their aggressor, which is commendable, and, in the same manner, children who are […]
Read moreChildren cannot wait
Several years ago when I was still reading for my social work qualification at the University of Malta one of my placements was with the Adoption and Fostering Unit at the than Ċentru Ħidma Soċjali which provided for most if not all social work services. It was a very exciting period for this sector in Malta […]
Read more
Tummy Time: Learning Delays that could Result from Lack of Tummy Time
I have four kids. Over the last seven years I have gone from the overly paranoid, blow everything out of proportion type to the it’s all good, they’re more resilient than you think type. I read up on as much information as I can to make sure my kids are getting what they need, but […]
Read more
Primitive Reflexes: Bedwetting – Why Your Child Wets the Bed or Wears Pull-ups after Age 5
As parents, we are all too familiar with the potty training process and how grueling it can be sometimes. Those frustrating trial runs with underwear versus diapers, frequent runs to the bathroom, and accidents that seem to happen at the most inopportune moments, not to mention one of the worst parts of the potty training […]
Read more
Kids in care want foster family stability and contact with their siblings
Children who live in institutions want more stable placements with foster families and to remain in contact with their siblings. The findings came out of consultation meetings chaired by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca when she was family minister, at a time when the Child Out-of-Home-Care Protection Bill was first drafted. Speaking to The Malta Independent, Paul Gatt, […]
Read more