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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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Foster Care Association in the dark about amendment to child protection bill
Family Minister Michael Farrugia recently came under attack for his address about foster carers and for his decision to drastically amend the long-awaited Child Out-of-Home-Care Protection Bill. The National Foster Care Association Malta (NFCAM) was in agreement with the drafted bill back when President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was responsible for the ministry for family and social solidarity. […]
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Father’s Day – You do not love children because they are yours, but because they deserve to be loved
It is much easier to become a father than to be one. Raising a child to adulthood is a great responsibility. Three fathers have chosen to open up their home to children who are not their own, to provide them with the love and stability they truly deserve. They speak to Therese Bonnici about the […]
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Fostering: Changes will cast abused children ‘adrift in system’
Fears that proposed amendments to Bill will remove permanent fostering With the Child Protection Bill still to be debated in Parliament, foster carers are anxious about proposals to remove permanent fostering, which they say can give children more stability. Foster carers are worried that proposed changes to a Bill to protect children will remove permanent […]
Read moreHow a child’s drawing sparked fears of abuse
A primary school teacher raised the alarm that one of her students was being sexually abused after the girl inadvertently strayed into the area below the belly of the man while colouring in a drawing. The drawing was sent to the government’s Child Protection Services where social workers, accustomed to “much more explicit drawings” by […]
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The members of the Commission for the Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults are announced
The Commission for the Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults, which falls under the responsibility of the Maltese Episcopal Conference, will be made up of five members. These are: Andrew Azzopardi, who will be the Head of the Safeguarding Commission, Dott. Roberta Attard, Dr Kevin Borg, Fr Antoine Farrugia S.D.B and Clarissa Sammut Scerri. Two […]
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