Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544021
The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday. com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY For those unfamiliar with how the system works, can you walk us through what happens from the moment a child is identified as being at risk to the point that they are placed in alternative care? Very often, children are mostly seen at schools, and that is where a lot of referrals come from. So, children will either speak up themselves about any abuse that they are going through, or else professionals who are working with these children, whether at school or at the doctor, or in any other setting, can immediately identify that a child is at risk. There might be severe neglect. The Child Protection Services, which is a different directorate, will investigate and the first aim of child protection is to try and support the family in order to protect that child. Unfortunately, although there is a lot of intervention that is being done with families, there still remain some families that refuse help. When we keep receiving reports about the children being at risk, Child Protection Services will gather the evidence and if it is enough, they will file an application in court for the case to be considered. Over the past five years, every situation, every investigation has gone immediately to court and it is only the court that decides whether a child is at risk or not. If the court decides that there is enough evidence it issues an order… there are various orders that can be issued. One of them is the care order, in which case, the custody is removed from the parents and given to the state—the Directorate for Alternative Care. The children are placed immediately in care, and then the court proceedings will continue to determine whether the final care order will be issued or not. But the children will be protected immediately. Foster care is stated as a priori- ty, yet residential homes remain at capacity. What is preventing more Maltese families from com- ing forward? First of all, I have to start off by saying that not every child fits well in a family. There might be young children who, due to the abuse that they have been through, might not fit well in a family. There might be young children who, having more individual attention, sometimes frustrates them even more. So, the need for residential homes will always remain because not every young child will automatically fit in a foster care placement. Having said that, the need for foster care always remains. We always have children, even who are in residential homes, who, when working with them we realise would probably benefit from being in a foster family. People tell me, 'I am afraid to become a foster carer because I'm afraid that I will become attached to the child and then they are removed'. That is a reality. Sometimes, children are sent back to their family. However, no child is removed abruptly. So, there is always a transition plan. And the foster carers will know what is happening. We had such lovely stories of foster carers who not only helped us in the transition, but they also helped the parents, because they felt that they owed it to the child to have a gradual transition as possible. What might you look for when considering a foster family? Anyone can become a foster carer if they have a lot of love to give. And we have a lot of people in Malta who have a lot of love to give. But love on its own is not enough because when you are fostering a child, you are not fostering just any other child, but you might be fostering a child who has lived in a state of abuse and experienced rejection. Today, we talk about therapeutic parenting and trauma-informed parenting, because the way the brain of a child who has experienced trauma is wired is different. And this is proven scientifically. You will have children who, for something very small, will have a huge tantrum; children who will start bedwetting again. You have to try and understand why they are doing this. Sometimes, it's not because something is happening but because they are in a safe environment where they can start exhibiting this behaviour. But it's very difficult for a foster carer to deal with these realities and that is why, as a fostering team, we offer not only our own workers, but we also have our own counsellor. We encourage foster carers also to go into therapy. And when I'm saying therapy, it's the whole system that has to be in therapy. It is not easy. I cannot say that it's easy. How many young people have left the system last year and how many are currently receiving af- tercare support after they left? The law states that they can stay until 21, but very often, if I take children living in foster care, they remain there as part of the family. Those children who are in community homes, we start working with them towards what we call independent living. Very often they remain in studies. They also are encouraged to start employment, sometimes part-time employment. We calculate that normally by the age of 21, they would have finished their studies and they would be then transitioned into independent living… We have strong discussions with the housing authority as well and very often they benefit from different schemes that are made available for young people who are looking for their first place of residence. What does the system still need to get right? When it comes to decisions that have to be taken in the best interest of children, they have to be expedient. A day in the life of a child is a long time to wait. So, I believe that whoever is involved in taking decisions on behalf of children should really ensure that these decisions are as expeditious as possible, primarily to give stability to children. Children will be waiting for an answer. If a child wants to go and see his parents; if a child is waiting for something simple like permission to travel, they need quick answers because they're children. They need stability and we owe it to them because they need peace of mind. If they do not feel stable in the place where they are, they cannot have peace of mind. If they don't have peace of mind, then we will be getting a lot more difficult behaviour. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2026 INTERVIEW