“He’s dangerous to the children, it’s better that he left voluntarily.” This is the opinion of the state secretary responsible for care policy regarding those working in child protection who did not sign the data sheet for the control of impeccable lifestyle. According to Attila Fülöp, those who refused to cooperate (according to the data of the Directorate-General for Child Protection, this is more than 6 percent of the employees at the institution) “wanted to hide something that could reveal that they are unfit to educate children in state care.” The State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior answered our questions in writing, but did not agree to a personal interview, so we did not have the opportunity to ask him back. The questions and answers are abbreviated.
As we reported, many child protection workers considered it unacceptable that the government made it mandatory to investigate the financial situation and leisure habits of not only him, but also the financial situation and leisure habits of a person over the age of 18 who lives in the same household with him, following the Bicske pedophile scandal. Thus, they also had to give permission to request information about them from the criminal record. What’s more, the police’s internal crime prevention and crime detection organization also questions neighbors and can even carry out secret surveillance. Experts claim that this investigation is unsuitable for the prevention of child abuse and child abuse, and is particularly worrisome based on the criteria of necessity and proportionality. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– What changes do you expect from the monitoring and control of the workers, and what specific role does the government assume for renewal?
– The change does not “start”, but has been going on since 2010 – the state secretary wrote – mass pedophiles went to prison, large children’s homes, small residential homes were created instead of “children’s cities”. We support the form of care for foster parents, and we also involved church and civil actors in the system, child protection work has become transparent and controllable. But those who are not suitable for this career must be screened out, because child abusers and pedophiles have no place in child protection. It is a false and incorrect claim that workers are being “observed”. The impeccable way of life control has been a clear and transparent practice in law enforcement for years. Why shouldn’t we apply this to those who manage, shape and steer the lives of the most vulnerable children? All in all, 95 percent of the workers remained in the system and submitted to the inspection on impeccable lifestyle and the psychological examination. Nowadays, they try to get child protection staff to leave by saying that the law is unconstitutional. I am personally convinced that the legislation will pass all constitutionality tests.
For the second half of the year, the government regrouped HUF 1.5 billion extra money for the monitoring, control, and assessment of the workers, on the other hand, specifically for expenses related to children – in the future, foster parents will also receive full compensation for college children – this is only slightly more than 6 percent, HUF 92 million additional costs, he considered justified. Next year, the internal affairs administration and the National Protection Service will receive HUF 2 billion more for inspections, and only an eighth of this, i.e. HUF 244 million, will specifically go to child protection and child welfare tasks. Meanwhile, the situation in child protection is critical, there are no places for admission, there is hardly any institution or network from which someone has not left. Groups should and had to be abolished and merged. The number of psychologists, special education teachers, and development teachers has decreased to a critical level. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– What percentage of employees do you expect to leave, and how will the ministry handle further staff reductions?
– 1.4 percent of workers left child protection specifically because they did not want to submit themselves to the investigation of the National Protection Service. Whoever did not sign the data sheet has something to hide. He wants to hide something that might reveal that he is unfit to raise children in public care. In other words, more polarizing: it is dangerous for children. It is better that he left voluntarily. Renewal means the end of the period when it was possible to question the true motivation of the workers. This will be the basis for the moral appreciation of the area.
The National Defense Service (NVSZ) answered our previous question that the inspection relies on register data, such as the criminal database, and an environmental study. Part of this is an on-site conversation, the purpose of which is to assess the worker’s habits and living conditions, about which the neighbors are also asked. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– How many child abusers has the NVSZ screened out?
– So far, he has completed 2,291 inspections of an impeccable lifestyle, in 4 cases he recommended the establishment of an objectionable lifestyle, typically on the basis of data on criminal records. In all cases, the employer makes the final decision on employment or continued employment. They are only interested in possible outrageous behavior. I can assure you that the National Protection Service is dedicated to ensuring that child protection workers are not subject to baseless accusations.
Attila Fülöp said in an interview that it is the state’s responsibility to minimize the risk of abuse. But several child protection experts have already stated in our newspaper that compliance with the 1997 Child Protection Act would be sufficient for this. However, abuse is systemic, the conditions for prevention, early assistance, and victim protection are not met, and the government has even reduced the number of child rights representatives representing minors living in state care. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– What exactly do you mean by abuse?
– In child protection, legislation is passed by the state, funding is provided by the state, and the specific task is carried out by those working in child protection. Now there has been a tightening of who can work in this area. By screening out potential rapists with the tests, we reduce the risk of abuse happening at all. Of course, you can never say that it cannot happen at all – we are talking about human reactions, not machine algorithms – but the possibility of abuse is obviously drastically reduced. In order to prevent abuse, we introduced a generally mandatory methodology in 2018, which defines the duties and responsibilities of all actors involved.
At the same time, the workers struggle with livelihood problems due to their low salary of HUF 250-300 thousand.
They are also overworked, because due to the lack of staff, they cannot even take days off. They reported to our newspaper about a toxic, abusive, incompetent environment, a complete lack of respect, and wage tension. On the other hand, Attila Fülöp’s statement says: financial respect is important, he would like to see this enhanced, the progress so far must be followed by further financial reinforcements. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– Can child protection workers expect a pay rise? If so, when and how much?
– The government decides on the wage increase. I am convinced that the wage improvement of the past years must be continued, and the financial strengthening of the area must be continued. If the suitability review of human resources has taken place, we will also be able to say that this area deserves even more, as it can refer to a solid moral foundation. Based on the law on the new career path of teachers, kindergarten teachers, psychologists, special education teachers, professional managers and foster care counselors in foster care networks will receive the same wage increase as teachers working in public education, covering several years. And since 2014, the income of foster parents has increased five to six times, depending on the number of children cared for.
Regarding the words of the State Secretary, it is worth noting: the basic fee for foster care in 2024 is 80,040 forints per month, on top of that there is now an additional fee of 53,360 forints per child or young adult. There are 5,800 foster parents in the country, about 2,000 are missing so that – according to the legal requirement – every child under the age of 12 can grow up in a family. Babies remain in hospitals, no one can take them in anymore. That is why we asked the Secretary of State:
– Do you feel responsible for the situation, the lack of a professional and support system?
– Anyone who knows the world of child protection, the fate of children, and the psychological traumas behind it, cannot seriously think that anyone in this field would be satisfied at any time. No matter how much development, no matter how many resources we provide, I will always be dissatisfied, because I can see where and what still needs to be done. But to not notice the efforts and developments with which we started in the direction of safer, more transparent child protection is cheap and especially harmful for child protection. I am not shirking my responsibility, I am fully aware that I personally try to use the available opportunities in the sector as efficiently as possible.
Source: nepszava.hu
