Another entity will join the unified regulation for interdepartmental identification of family distress in the Vitebsk region
Currently, the issue of including in the regulations of the agency for state registration and land cadastre, which can inform about the violation of the housing rights of minors by their parents, is being worked out. This, in turn, should also be considered as one of the facts of family distress when a child requires state protection.
A Unified Regulation for the interaction of services and departments of the region in identifying children in a socially dangerous situation has been developed by the regional prosecutor's office, has received support from the executive authorities, and has been actively implemented in the region for the second year. It includes 10 services, including law enforcement agencies, courts, educational institutions, healthcare, the Investigative Committee, energy supervision, housing and communal services, gas supply organizations, etc.
– There are cases in the region when, due to difficult financial situations, parents try to solve their financial problems by using the premises where they live or own, including selling their housing, but they do not think about the interests of minor children, thereby placing them in a socially dangerous situation. The prosecutor's office is currently investigating these facts, – explains Anton Volkov, highlighting the pressing problem and the need to amend the existing regulation. – We will look at the alienation of residential premises in a completely new way. If there is a transaction, the guardianship authorities must provide a timely conclusion on whether it corresponds to the child's interests.
One example of intentional deterioration of housing conditions for minors was recently recorded in Vitebsk. The mother of two teenage daughters mortgaged her three-room apartment to creditors, could not cope with her debts, fictitiously formalized a gift agreement with a stranger, thereby depriving her own children of their legal "meters." At that time, the daughters were not registered in the apartment and lived with relatives. The prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in defense of the housing rights of minors, as a result of which the transaction was declared invalid, and the woman was deprived of parental rights.
In turn, Tamara Olekhnovich, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission for Juvenile Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee, reported that the existing regulations are having a practical effect and are gaining momentum. In particular, the number of signals about family distress is constantly increasing: over 9 months of the current year, 6,088 such reports were received, which is more than a thousand more than in the same period of 2016.
It is noteworthy that information about problematic families is provided not only by entities included in the regulations, but also by indifferent citizens, which was not observed before. In 25% of cases, children are recognized as being in a socially dangerous situation.
There are also cases of parents who have already been recognized as dysfunctional, but this is an additional reason for the interested services to pay attention to the family, adjust their work, and possibly take additional measures, believes Tamara Vitalievna.