The State Agency for Child Protection celebrated 25 years since its establishment. At the event, the Speaker of the National Assembly Mihaela Dotsova described the agency's employees as the “silent heroes of Bulgaria“, because their work is evaluated not by the number of reports prepared, but by the number of smiles they have caused.
“The silent heroes of Bulgaria“ is the assessment with which Dotsova described the people working with children at risk. According to her, their daily efforts sometimes replace maternal love. She emphasized that the anniversary is not just a celebration of an institution, but is associated with 25 years of caring for Bulgarian children.
The Speaker of Parliament pointed out that the attitude towards the elderly and caring for children are two of the signs of the maturity of any developed society. According to her, SACP employees must combine reason and rationality in order to find the best direction for the development of children at risk.
Campaigns guide state policies
Dotsova noted the role of the campaigns organized by the agency. According to her, they show how the problems faced by children are changing and support the development of policies to protect their rights and for better care.
The Speaker of the National Assembly stated that the parliament will consider any meaningful idea that can lead to better policies for children. Thus, she outlined the commitment of the legislative institution to the proposals related to the protection system.
A system for a faster response to violence is being prepared
In parallel with the anniversary, the SACP is developing an information system that should consolidate data on reports of violence against or between children. It will collect information regardless of which protection authority filed the report and whether it was subsequently withdrawn.
The goal is for institutions to have concentrated information and to react more quickly to new data on violence. The development of the system was announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Natalia Efremova in September.
The State Agency for Child Protection was established by a decree of the Council of Ministers of October 10, 2000 and began operating on January 1, 2001. It is the specialized body of the Council of Ministers that manages, coordinates and controls the state policy for child protection.
Sources: BTA