Department for the Social and Legal Protection of Children

Description of the department’s activities 

The social and legal protection of children primarily refers to the protection of a child’s right to healthy development and proper upbringing, the protection of their legitimate interests – including the protection of their property – and measures aimed at restoring disrupted family functions.

The primary consideration in social and legal protection is the child’s best interests and welfare.

To this end, the SPOD department, amongst other things, carries out the following tasks

• it monitors adverse influences affecting children and takes measures to limit their impact, 

• assists parents in resolving parenting or other issues relating to the care of the child,

• provides or arranges for parents to receive advice on the upbringing and education of their child,

• carries out investigations within the child’s family and at their place of residence,

• carries out investigations in educational and healthcare facilities, at the child’s place of work or in any other facility where the child is present,

• co-operates with other state authorities,

• monitors compliance with the child’s rights in institutions providing residential and protective care,

• gives its opinion on the child’s residence outside such institutions with their parents or other individuals,

• participates in criminal and misdemeanour proceedings against a young person,

• submits proposals for conditional release from care institutions,

• deals with children who have been abused, exploited or neglected,

• works with children against whom a criminal offence has been committed, or where there is a suspicion that such an offence has been committed,

• reports suspected offences against children to the criminal justice authorities. 

SPOD working procedures:

Procedure for conducting a social investigation within the family and its evaluation
Procedure for investigating anonymous reports
Procedure for placing a child in residential care, extending residential care, the transfer of a child within residential care
Procedure for conducting an interview with a client
Procedure for processing an IPOD
Procedure for assessing a child’s
needs Procedure for providing social counselling
Procedure for conducting an educational interview by a children and youth
welfare officer Procedure for conducting an interview with aa child
Procedure for the conduct of administrative offence proceedings against parents pursuant to Section 59 of the Act on Social and Legal Protection
of Children Procedure for the exercise of court supervision over a child’s
upbringing Procedure for placing a child in the care of a
foster family Procedure for lodging a criminal complaint against parents or persons responsible for a child’s upbringing
Procedure of the District Social Services Authority (ORP) in the adoption of a child
Procedure for placing a child in temporary foster careperiod, and its revocation
Procedure for placing a child in the care of a natural person wishing to become a foster carer
Procedure for submitting applications or motions to the court (e.g. for the restriction or termination of parental responsibility, the imposition of supervision, or a reprimand
Substitution at the workplace
Handling complaints and reports
Procedure for organising case conferences

Issues decisions

• on imposing an obligation on parents to use a specialist counselling service if the parents have failed to arrange for specialist assistance, even though the child is in urgent need of such assistance,
• on requiring parents to seek specialist counselling, particularly in disputes concerning the child’s upbringing or arrangements for contact with the child,
• on the reimbursement of costs associated with the child’s arrival in the Czech Republic.

In matters of adoption and foster care

• it accepts applications from individuals wishing to become adoptive parents, foster carers or temporary foster carers
• identifies children suitable for adoption or placement in foster care and maintains the relevant records
• identifies persons suitable to become adoptive parents or foster carers and maintains the relevant records
• acts as a guardian or custodian and takes urgent measures in the child’s best interests and on their behalf at times when no guardian has been appointed or if the appointed guardian fails to assume their duties

In matters of social prevention and probation

• implements measures aimed at eliminating, mitigating or preventing the worsening or recurrence of disorders in the child’s mental, physical and social development,
• provides social counselling and outreach social work for families with children and young adults within the town and the entire area of the municipality with extended powers;
• in direct cooperation with schools, local authorities and other state and non-state organisations, assesses the situation regarding negative trends among children and young people and proposes possible preventive measures,
• as part of its activities and ongoing social work, it cooperates with other state and non-state institutions, in particular the regional branch of the Czech Labour Office, the regional authority, the district social security administration, the police, the municipal police, the courts, the public prosecutor’s office, the Probation and Mediation Service, social service providers, etc.

Children and Young People’s Social Worker

A children’s and youth welfare officer is a specialist employee of a municipal authority with extended powers who provides social and legal protection for children, focusing on minors who have behavioural problems, commit (other) criminal offences and misdemeanours, show disrespect towards their parents and other persons responsible for their upbringing, run away from home, skip school, engage in prostitution, or use alcohol and other drugs, etc. The purpose of the role is to protect and guide children with behavioural disorders; her work involves helping these children to overcome the adverse conditions and influences to which they are exposed, and she implements measures aimed at preventing the escalation or recurrence of risky behaviour on the part of the child or those around them. She assists parents in resolving parenting or other issues relating to child care, and provides or arranges for specialist counselling. Where a (otherwise) criminal offence has been committed, she participates in the questioning of minors and young people as part of investigations by the Czech Police and takes part in administrative offence proceedings or hearings before the youth court. They collaborate with educational and healthcare institutions, educational care centres, specialist services for families and children, prisons and courts, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Probation and Mediation Service of the Czech Republic.

A probation officer works with children and their families:

• where a child under the age of 15 has committed an act constituting a criminal offence or a misdemeanour,
• if a child aged between 15 and 18 has committed a criminal offence or an administrative offence (and criminal or administrative proceedings have been initiated against them),
• if a child exhibits serious behavioural problems and conduct disorders.
   

As part of her work, the probation officer:

• works with minors who display undesirable patterns of behaviour and conduct, children with behavioural disorders who have problems within their family life, at school, have risky peer relationships, or who may be experimenting with addictive substances or engaging in unlawful behaviour,
• provides specialist social and legal advice to both children and parents in resolving their family, personal and social problems and crisis situations linked to parenting issues or the child’s criminal behaviour,
• assesses the situation of a child at risk and their family and draws up an individual child protection plan, or decides on the imposition of educational measures,
• contributes to the prevention of crime among children and young people by participating in appropriate prevention programmes in collaboration with professionals working with children and young people,
• visits minors in schools and other educational establishments; visits children placed in residential care due to serious behavioural problems; visits children subject to protective care, children taken into custody and those serving custodial sentences, and monitors their progress in these facilities, whilst also visiting the parents of these children,
• takes part in proceedings in criminal and minor offence cases; during these hearings, submits a comprehensive report to the court on the child’s social situation – including the family background from which the child comes, possible causes of the unlawful conduct, together with proposals for appropriate measures; lodes appeals on behalf of juveniles,
• assists children following their release from protective or residential care and following their release from custodial sentences, with the aim of helping to restore their disrupted social relationships, facilitating their reintegration into their family and social environment, and preventing a recurrence of unlawful behaviour;
• works intensively with children over the age of 16 to prepare them for independent living. 

It submits proposals and recommendations to the court

• for the ordering, extension or revocation of residential care
• to place a child in the care of a facility for children requiring immediate assistance
• for the enforcement of decisions regarding the provision of residential care
• for the restriction or termination of parental responsibility, or the suspension of its exercise
• for a decision on the fulfilment of the condition for adoption, namely that the parents show no interest in their child
• on the initiation of proceedings to determine the paternity of a minor child
• on the ordering of interim measures where a child is left without any care or where the child’s life or healthy development is seriously endangered
• on placing a child in the care of a person who wishes to become a foster carer
• on placing a child in the care of a person who wishes to become an adoptive parent

Section on selected activities and recommendations of the social and legal protection of children authority

• OSPOD – information for parents (not only those going through a divorce)
• Decisions on the arrangements for minor children in the Příbram region – the so-called ‘Cochem’ approach
• Information for children
• Leaflet for children
• Procedure in the event that a pupil is not collected from the after-school club or a minor child is not collected from nursery school
• Quality standards for the provision of social and legal protection for children by social and legal protection authorities
• Information and procedures regarding on-call duty for social and legal protection of children authorities
• Procedure for lodging and resolving complaints about the activities of the SPOD authority – parents
• Procedure for lodging and resolving complaints regarding the activities of the social and legal protection of children authority – children

Territorial jurisdiction in the field of social and legal protection of children

Pursuant to Act No. 359/1999 Coll., on the social and legal protection of children, as amended, the jurisdiction for the provision of socialand legal protection is defined by the child’s permanent residence within the territory falling under the jurisdiction of the Příbram Municipal Authority as a municipal authority with extended powers. Social workers from the Department of Social and Legal Protection of Children and probation officers for children and young people are involved in ensuring the provision of SPOD services:

Who can help me?

What should I do if I need help during lockdown…

THE RIGHT TO CHILDHOOD – www.pravonadetstvi.cz

Links to websites dedicated to the protection of children’s rights 

Our Child Foundation: http://www.nasedite.cz/ http://www.dkc.cz/

 Fund for Children at Risk: http://www.fod.cz/

Safety Helpline: http://www.linkabezpeci.cz/ 

Cochem.cz: Cochem.cz 

Telephone numbers for organisations dedicated to the protection of children’s rights and crisis helplines

Safety Helpline 116 111 (free 24-hour helpline)
‘Message Home’ Helpline 800 111 113, 724 727 777
Parenting Helpline 800 111 234

List of activities

• Issues relating to children who are abused, exploited or neglected
• Issues relating to foster care
• Issues relating to the placement of a minor in the care of others
• Issues relating to young people’s behavioural problems
• Issues relating to maintenance for a minor child
• Issues relating to the provision of maintenance and costs for an unmarried mother
• Issues relating to arrangements for contact with a minor child
• Issues relating to the upbringing and maintenance of a minor child