Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1419860
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS dated its operating procedures and it is now not possible for a child in care to be taken home by her social worker. "Nowadays this cannot happen because the current manage- ment ensured that clear proce- dures and practices are put in place and the mandatory report- ing makes it a legal obligation for all professionals to report such cases now," the FSWS said. The implementation of the Minors Protection (Alternative Care) Act in 2020 and the adop- tion, earlier this year, of the reg- ulations on mandatory reporting for all professionals in any entity, make it obligatory for abuse to be reported. There is also the legal obliga- tion for anyone working with children to get clearance that they are not on the sex offend- ers' register. FSWS said the Directorate for Alternative Care (DAC) assesses all potential carers, whether they are homes or foster carers, who then have to be approved by the competent authorities such as the Fostering Board. "The DAC monitors all carers offering such placements on a regular basis whilst the children have their separate key worker who is, so to speak 'the guard- ian' of their best interests at all times," the agency said. FSWS insisted that children in care are now much safer than they have ever been before. "We are not perfect and there will al- ways be more room for improve- ment. Children in care deserve nothing but the best and we are committed to continue improv- ing our services and to give them nothing but the best to ensure that they are safe at all times." The agency has invested in hu- man resources, including spe- cialised training in forensic in- terviewing in the USA for staff investigating any form of abuse against children. The agency has for the first time ever engaged a paediatric consultant and two paediatric nurses to medically follow all children in care. "What the honourable constitutional court concluded should not have happened and, worse still, gone unreported. There is no excuse for this"