SOCIAL The Defender of Rights, Claire Hédon, took up last week the “alarming situation of child protection in the North et la Somme »
Illustration of child abuse. — Tristan Reynaud
- The Defender of Rights, Claire Hédon, has taken up the “alarming situation of child protection in the North and Sum “.
- For many months, educators, lawyers and even magistrates in these two departments have regularly sounded the alarm.
- According to the Defender of Rights, “the institutional responses to the needs are not up to the challenges and undermine the fundamental rights of children”.
Children in danger. The Defender of Rights, Claire Hédon, took up last week the “alarming situation of child protection in the North and the Somme”. For many months, educators, lawyers and even magistrates from these two departments have been regularly sounding the alarm about the difficulties encountered by the social assistance services at school. l’Enfance (ASE), formerly the DASS which depended on the State.
“The number of places to accommodate very young children, such as adolescents, is largely insufficient . The dangers multiply. The lack of professionals to support them is glaring,” said Claire Hédon, in a press release. release.
Seven hundred places of accommodation eliminated
According to her, “institutional responses to these needs are not met. the height of the stakes and undermine the fundamental rights of children”. Last month, the social workers of the departmental council of the North, the union of the magistrature and that of the lawyers of France had signed a common forum to denounce “the shortcomings of the Nord department” in the protection of children and adolescents.
In this department, for example, 700 accommodation places have been provided. abolished in 2015, in specialized establishments, for the benefit of foster families, “for cost reasons” at the time, the South union.
Separated siblings
In an article, published in June, 20 Minutes lined up the testimonies of professionals unhappy to see the ASE “unable to protect children with dignity”. It was about children tossed from one place of reception to another. another or separated siblings, for lack of places, to the great displeasure of the social workers who are struggling to try to find solutions adapted to their needs. each folder.
“In the past two years, domestic violence has exploded; and young children are more fragile psychologically. We can incriminate confinements, but not only. Still, requests for placement by the courts have increased; by 10%, while the number of social workers does not increase” explains Olivier Treneul, former educator and delegate; trade union South in the North department.
“In recent years, several legislative texts have reformed the child protection, however no national or local reflection has been made. thinking about their application in the field,” deplores the Defender of Rights, whose automatic referral “will make it possible to draw up a precise inventory and to address recommendations”.