As part of its plan to reform youth care, the Flemish socialist party Vooruit wants to give judges the opportunity to take action in cases of so-called "precarious pregnancies," for example in the case of alcohol abuse.
The decree was put to the vote on Tuesday evening in the Welfare Committee of the Flemish Parliament. While Vooruit said it realises that the text has little chance of being approved, the party still hopes to "shake the tree" with it.
"Youth care is at a loss," said Vooruit MP Freya Van den Bossche. "In addition to the dire shortage of space in youth care, they are reaching the limits of their options to protect children and guide parents."
The aim is to give youth care workers and juvenile judges "more new tools to intervene more specifically, where necessary," she stressed. "But we also want to provide parents with more clarity about what they can do to provide a safe home."
Giving judges more tools
Among other things, the party proposes to have a juvenile judge place parents under supervision in the event of a precarious pregnancy. This means that the entire family would be intensively monitored to prevent damage to the unborn child, for example in the case of alcohol or drug abuse.
Currently, the authorities sometimes "solve" this situation with a forced admission of pregnant women. Vooruit, however, argues that this is not the right way to protect women and children.
In the case of concerning parenting situations, juvenile judges should also be allowed to impose measures on parents instead of just on the child, Vooruit said. Parents could be required to receive guidance to rebuild the relationship with their child.
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Additionally, if a concerning home situation is identified for one child, there should be a mandatory examination for all children in the family. Vooruit proposes the introduction of "a rebuttable presumption of a disturbing situation."
In practice, this means that if it turns out that the problematic situation is linked to just one child, the suspicion is refuted. If that is not the case, the other children will also be protected. In that case, parents can provide evidence to show that the situation is improving.
