Malé, Maldives – The Gender Ministry on Monday, has announced a new regulation which allows children under state custody to be returned back to their families.
The Child and Family Protection Service of the Gender Ministry announced the new regulations under the Children’s rights protection law and has been published in the Government Gazette.
The new regulation is aimed to allow children under state custody to grow up with their families if the situation allows to, as this is in the best interest of the children.
The new regulation states that the Child and Family Protection Service must begin the work of returning the children back to their family, within 6 months after the child has been brought under state custody. The final decision will be taken by the committee comprised of 5 memebers selected by the Gender Ministry.
Children under state custody will be returned back to their families after going through 4 phases stated in the regulation. They are finding the family, doing the necessary assesments, preparing the family and improving the bond between the child and the family. Following this, the situation of the child will be monitored regularly and the transfer will be finalised if there are no problems after a year and a half.
