The child recognizes the "smell" of home, safety with his person, does not resign to the environment. Experts welcome the end of infant institutions<

As part of the amendment to the Act on the Social and Legal Protection of Children, infant institutions are to be completed by the end of 2024. The proposal will now go to the Senate.

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"And it is done! It will no longer be possible to place infants and toddlers under the age of three in an institution. We have changed the fate of the youngest children at risk for the better and we have moved closer to civilized countries. Thank you to everyone who supported our suggestions. Not only experts but also the public asked for it. For years. Hurrah!" Olga Richterová, MEP and Vice-President of the Pirates, commented on the final verdict after the meeting of the Chamber of Deputies on Twitter.

Many experts, representatives of human rights organizations and the general public have long appealed for the abolition of infant institutions. At the beginning of this year, there were more than 200 children under the age of three in domestic infant institutions. Hand in hand with the cessation of infant care should be a systematic improvement of foster care and a focus on attention and efforts to build a quality network of professional foster carers. Over the next two and a half years, current infant institutions will be able to transform into institutions that will take care of children with severe disabilities.

The approved government amendment also includes an increase in foster carers' fees. If all changes are approved by the Senate and the President, the new increase in remuneration for foster parents will be linked to the minimum wage. Of course, the number of children cared for by the foster parent and their health will play a role in the amount of rewards.

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We asked experts and foster parents for their opinion:

Anna Krátká, family and therapeutic consultant accompanying the organization Rozum a Cit, provides professional counseling and psychotherapies

The current decision to ban the placement of children under the age of three in institutional care follows a practice that has been operating abroad for many years. In the first years of life, a child, like other mammals, needs the care of one close and still available person who flexibly meets his needs. According to research, if a child does not receive such care, it has a major impact on the development of his brain and the ability to live a good and satisfying life in the future. These conditions cannot be met in institutional facilities.

Children who, especially in the first years of life, did not have the opportunity to form a strong emotional bond with one adult caregiver, are then not able to relate healthily to themselves, to other people and to the world. They repeatedly experienced that people near them were not safe. It is very difficult for them to trust or rely on others to accept help. They often experience behavioral disorders, problems with authorities or accepting boundaries, manifestations of aggression, restlessness, fear and anxiety, and other difficulties such as feelings of the "bad self," zero motivation, or difficulty finding meaning.

Lenka Procházková, a temporary foster mother from Veltrus, takes care of babies with developmental disabilities, has taken care of 10 children and now has twins in her care

I also take care of severely premature children, indicated for severe, life-threatening operations, stoma, apnea, withdrawal syndrome, immature central nervous system and so on. If a child is released from the hospital and can go home, even the postponed children can place in institutions in a foster family. The child creates the certainty that he is heard and seen, he does not give up. What is important is the same caregiver who responds to the child's needs, burys, caresses, repacks, and mainly feeds according to the child's needs. Not according to the dairy kitchen.

The child from the earliest age experiences the natural environment of the family - vacuum cleaner, blender, the smell of laundry, the smell of cooking and baking, the arrival of other members of the household, voices, laughter, conversation ... On walks outside he hears and sees the tram, bus, tank, animals. He drives a car. The baby is accompanied to the doctors by "his" person, who undergoes checks, vaccinations and samples with him. During hospitalization, he has his person with him, just like other children.

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Where will children from infant institutions go?

According to experts, the vote is a breakthrough that will help stir up support for family care for vulnerable children. The number of children under 3 in infant institutions and other facilities is declining; alternative placements will need to be found in 2025 for less than 300 children under 3. However, according to current trends, it is possible to get children into families even earlier. In the first five years of the law's effectiveness, the change will save 3.2 billion crowns, which, according to experts, should be invested in the development of a network of field and outpatient support services.

"There will be about twenty children in one region, for whom it will be necessary to find a new location. Many of them will be able to stay with their parents if the family receives the necessary support services. Only for dozens of children will need to prepare the opportunity to go quickly to an adoptive or long-term foster family. This is certainly within the power of all regions. In the case of children with severe disabilities, it will really be small children's units in one region. There are already a number of specialized foster families and community services for children with disabilities in the Czech Republic, and the law is a great opportunity and a deadline to expand, ”says Julie Kochová, chairwoman of the Dobrý start initiative.

Children are likely to get out of institutions sooner

MEPs eventually favored a proposal to limit institutional care for children under 3 years of age from 1 January 2025. "More than three years to implement the changes is a really generous deadline. Trends show that the number of children is already declining, and more and more regions are also involved in the transformation on their own initiative, because they see that the system works much better. It is therefore probable that the emptying of infant institutions could be achieved before 2025. However, I perceive the whole amendment not as a goal, but as a path on which we finally stand after years of endless debates and know its direction. The goal of all those who care about children must be to achieve a family environment for every child as quickly as possible, regardless of their age or health status, ”says Klára Laurenčíková, Chairwoman of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.