The state received a D on its care for Bulgarian children. That was the poor assessment of the National Network for Children /NNC/ that unites 113 NGOs across the country. Those presented for a second year in a row their independent report, named Notebook 2013: What is the Grade Point Average of the state in its care for children? The report is based on the analysis of the fulfillment of 40 state engagements in 2012, related to children and family policies in 5 areas. These are the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, family environment and alternative care, healthcare, education and justice for minors. Child poverty is one of the most serious problems, reported by the NGOs, as it is with the highest rate in Europe.

“Unfortunately the situation has only been worsening over the past years,” Vyara Ivanova from the NNC warns. “Bulgaria tops the sad EU rankings on poverty risk and social exclusion of children – 51.8 percent are endangered by these, on the average 27 percent for the EU. The share of poor children has been progressively going up in this country over the past years. Nearly 1/3 of the kids live in real poverty. Besides that poverty with large families with three kids or more turns into a shock. Latest data show a share of 78 percent. Bulgaria is last in Europe on expenses for social support per capita – EUR 96 on the average EUR 552 per year for the EU. That is why our recommendations are related to implementation of tax relieves for parents, for family taxation, counting for the real number of their members. Further: the implementation of enough and accessible services and forms of child care, aimed support of lonely parents and parents of many children, of separate and autonomous family policy that misses in Bulgaria – that is all necessary.”

The NGOs say that the lack of an independent body for monitoring of the compliance with the rights of children is a gap in the fulfillment of the engagements, related to the common principles within the UN convention mentioned above.

“We recommend a specialized ombudsman to be included in the structure of the main one,” Vyara Ivanova goes on to say. “We did that last year, but the amendments in the law on the ombudsman didn’t adopt it. At the same time the positive thing was that the function of child protection was included in the obligations of the institution. However, 23 out of the 27 member-states have a special ombudsman or commissioners on the rights of children.”

The NNC says that no social and psychological support has been provided for prevention of the abandonment of babies at the maternity wards in Bulgaria. The positive change is the work of the state for closure of homes for medical and social care and the taking out of the kids in family environment. The number of children, accommodated with foster families in 2012 went up by 30 percent. The sphere, where the state has received the lowest assessment is healthcare for children. Child mortality went down in 2011, but it still remains twice higher /8.5 per mille/ on the average of 4.18 per mille in the EU. There is also a lack of specialized psychological assistance and the number of child therapists is not enough. No conditions or prevention of suicides and aggression among youngsters have been provided, despite the alarming statistics that 449 kids attempted suicides in 2011. NNC experts say that standards for an early child development should be implemented. 100 percent of the kids should finish their basic education and 90 percent should graduate high school. The efforts for modernization of school education should also be continued. Justice for children is another problematic sphere, where the support of the government is more like a moral one than real. Judges, prosecutors and investigators should specialize in the work with children, as well as special premises for interrogation of kids should be constructed in all the 28 districts of Bulgaria. The NNC also demands the implementation of a register for the perpetrators of sexual crimes against children.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev