Letter Bulgarian Ambassador to BBC/Ms Blewett

Dear Mrs Blewett,

Thank you for your letter of 30 August. I would like to forward the answer which the Embassy received from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in Bulgaria.

The main priority in Bulgaria today concerning child protection policy is ensuring each child a right to live in a family environment. Deinstitutionalization of children stays high on our agenda and we are making a lot of efforts in that respect. It is useful to remind that in the beginning of our transition Bulgaria appeared to be a country with one of the highest number of children placed in institutes in Europe. This problem has been always our greatest concern and we have undertaken specific steps, including establishing a proper legislative framework and envisaging adequate financial resources to reverse that trend. All these actions have been initiated following the relevant practice of the other well developed European countries. We realize that this is a beginning of a very difficult and continuous process but we are committed to achieve high standards of child protection in Bulgaria in a long term.

Our strategic goal is to reduce the number of children in the specialised institutions. Therefore we have set up and developed a functioning system for child protection in accordance with the EU requirements and recommendations. We insist on the priority implementation of the protection measures in family environment- prevention, reintegration, placing the child at families of relatives, friends or foster family and adoption. Placing the child in a specialised institute is considered only as an extreme measure for protection and is being undertaken always as a last resort after all other possibilities for child support in a family environment have been exhausted.

Our observations point out that in the end of 2006 the number of children, placed in specialized institutions is 8,653 which is 31,4 per cent less if we compare with 2001. With an amendment of the Child Protection Act we have envisaged the status of the "professional foster family" which also helps to have less children in specialised institutes. A significant progress has been made in the development of the social services for children and families in Bulgaria. The alternative forms of social services ensure an independent and fulfilled life in an environment, very similar to the family. As to 31.07. 2007 the total number of social services in the communities is 197 and a large part of them concern children with disabilities.

1. The degree to which responsibility for conditions in such Institutions lies with the individual Directors, or with the relevant government departments

Social services in Bulgaria have been decentralised since 2003. Municipal mayors are in charge of them as they are also employers of the social workers. The municipalities are entitled to initiate new social services structures depending on the needs of the population in their respective region. This enables the local authorities to shape and implement an efficient local policy, which takes into consideration the specific requirements and meets to a maximum the local community needs of different types of social services for children.

The municipalities which supply the services must comply with the Ordinance for Criteria and Standards of Social Services for Children, thus guaranteeing observance of the standards for social services for children in special care institutions. The Directors, on the other hand, are heads of teams and must supervise the staff performance and the care delivered.

2. The lack of any form of rehabilitation, education or other intellectual or physical stimulation

The assessments of the institutions made in 2004 and 2006 demonstrated a considerable progress in meeting the needs of the children in the disabled children institutions of general health care, specialised medical services, and education. Children are guaranteed general health, specialised medical and dental care, rehabilitation and specific therapies. Most of the institutions have at their disposal well equipped rehabilitation premises with medical staff specialising in different medical conditions.

In addition to the specialised institutions, the disabled children are entitled to using the services of the existing day care centres, centres for social rehabilitation and integration of disabled children, social support centres, etc.

To meet the children's educational needs, special action is applied to implement the policy of guaranteed access to quality education and integrated training of disabled children. In this, too, progress has been evident in comparison to 2004. According to the assessment, the needs of the children of education and training are well met in 12 institutions for children with disabilities; in another 12 the results are satisfactory and as a result of the assessment conducted in those institutions 59 children receive integrated education in comprehensive schools; 192 children attend specialised (mostly auxiliary) schools, while 113 children study, with the support of qualified teachers, in auxiliary school classes outside the institutions. A number of children from the homes for disabled children and young people follow tailor-made programmes for corrective, compensatory and educational activities and development of their social skills.

These programmes aim at assessing the children not from the point of view of their disabilities but from the point of view of making use of their specific potential. The modern trends of pedagogical, corrective and compensatory education demand new approaches in the work with disabled children. Models for work with children with an average level of learning disabilities are applied in the social services institutions. The main purpose is to stimulate the abilities of the children to express themselves and to shape their communication skills. Most of the disabled children in the institutions also receive vocational training in the existing 9 social institutions for education and vocational training for disabled children which gives them a real chance to participate in the life of the society.

3. The policies the government has to prevent child abuse in such institutions

The UN Convention for the Rights of the Child and the Bulgarian legislation (The Child Protection Act) guarantee the compliance of the institutions with the requirements to observe the rights of the children and regulate the state commitment to guarantee the children's ultimate interests, inclusive of delivering of high quality care. The Ordinance for Criteria and Standards of Social Services for Children formulates clearly the measures which have to be taken by any specialised institution in order not to allow abuse of the children in it. The compliance with all standards relates to the guaranteed existence of policies and institutional procedures, material assets, sufficient number of qualified staff of both sexes to work with the children, suitable initial and ongoing training of the staff, guaranteed methodological support and supervision of the staff directly working with children.

The State Agency for the Protection of the Child controls the implementation of the Ordinance for Criteria and Standards of Social Services for Children through two major levers, licensing of service suppliers and supervising compliance with the standards. It is also its obligation to monitor the implementation of the recommendations formulated during the supervision, and, if need be, to provide methodological assistance. In many cases, it monitors directly the changes taking place according to the recommendations. The Agency also works continuously on prevention of violence through providing methodological tools for the professionals in the institutions, and through organising, on its own or in partnership with other state, municipal or civil organisations, of regional meetings, round table discussions and training of professionals from the different partner organisations on a local level working with disabled children, such as institutional staff teams, departments for child protection, medical experts, teachers etc.

4. The policy with respect to re-examination

Compared to the assessment of the specialised institutions for disabled children of 2004, the assessment of 2006 found a considerable improvement in the quality of the general health, and specialised medical care for the children. In nearly 70 per cent (18) of the institutions the general health and specialised medical care situation is on a high level. Children have personal physicians, medical documentation is faultless, medical check ups, rehabilitation and prevention measures and immunisations take place on a regular basis. In those Institutions there is full time medical staff working in well equipped surgeries. Chronically ill children have full access to hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. In 8 Institutions (31 per cent) general health and specialised medical care are assessed as satisfactory. Not a single Institution has received a bad or unsatisfactory assessment for the health services they provide.

In conclusion, I should like to assure you that the Bulgarian government will continue to work for the deinstitutionalisation of the disabled children. We appreciate extremely highly the support of the UK NGOs and Charities, and the communities in the UK in this field.

It is my sincere hope that the position of the Bulgarian government will be reflected in your documentary.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Lachezar Matev
Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United Kingdom