Unaccompanied juvenile asylum seekers

Course presentation: Children in the care of immigration authorities

Organizer: Juristenes Utdanningssenter

Deputy Minister Lotte Grepp Knutsen

21 April 2009

 

Children without ties to Norway –

The role of our child welfare services

 

·        All children living in Norway are covered by provisions of the Norwegian Child Welfare Act

·        On 30 May 2008 a new chapter of the Child Welfare Act was introduced – Chapter 5 A – affecting unaccompanied minor asylum seekers.

·        This new chapter governs care centres for unaccompanied minors who seek asylum

 

Background for the reform:

·        The government was determined to improve the situation for unaccompanied juveniles seeking asylum in Norway

·        The child welfare service has solid expertise about children's needs and what constitutes good care

·        It was natural to assign this new responsibility to the child welfare service, which already oversaw the interests of children requiring public care and protection in Norway

 

The reform entails:

·        Regional child welfare services under state authority are supposed to offer unaccompanied asylum-seekers below the age of 15 the opportunity to reside at a care centre upon their arrival in the country and until they are granted residency or possibly returned to their home country

·        The care centre is to provide care for such youngsters on behalf of the regional child welfare service

·        The care centre is to provide the child quality care and security, and to help it receive the follow-up services and treatment that it requires

 

Follow-through measures:

·        Within three weeks, the care centre is to have worked up a proposal for continued supervision of the child while living at the care centre

·        Within three weeks after that, the regional child welfare service is to have determined a follow-up course of action. This decision is considered applicable only to the individual in question.

·        The determination by the child welfare service is supposed to lay the groundwork for a survey of the child's situation and needs, which will in turn be the basis for residency considerations

 

One care centre at Eidsvoll …

·        Now we are planning No. 7 . . .

·        Since the Eidsvoll care centre opened in December 2007, the number of arrivals has exploded

·        Today the regional child welfare service, which is under state authority, is responsible for the care of more than 200 children under the age of 15

·        Many of them have been placed in temporary care situations while the capacity of the child welfare care centres is expanded

 

Why the little ones first?

·        Children under 15 years of age comprise a particularly vulnerable group. That's why we chose to develop care services for them first

·        Age 15 is a natural dividing point

o   Children under 15 have no legal rights of party

o   They are not liable to criminal prosecution

o   They are under the age of sexual consent

 

Tightening of asylum policy

·        Temporary acceptance of unaccompanied juvenile asylum-seekers whose only basis for being allowed to stay is that it is impossible to locate their parents or guardians in the country of origin

·        Introduction of the Dublin II regulation affecting unaccompanied juvenile asylum-seekers

 

Hands full:

·        Since January 2008 we have had our hands full organizing care for children under 15 years of age

·        At the same time, we have also gained valuable experience in how to design services for older youths

·        Many youths older than 15 are independent young people well on their way to adulthood

·        We should think hard about which services would help them the most

 

What's best for the child?

·        What is best for one child is not necessarily what is best for all children

·        The best thing for many of these children could be to return them to caregivers in their home countries

·        Research shows that if parents behave adequately toward their children, the children are able to get through difficult situations better in the company of their parents or other close caregivers

 

Challenges ahead:

·        It has been a challenging task to establish a care network sufficient in scope to take in all unaccompanied asylum-seekers under the age of 15

·        Big challenges remain in working out residency solutions at the municipal level. This year, we lack solutions for about 800 unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers, including those over 15 years of age

·        It is a challenge that that so many of them hide their identity, thereby complicating any  potential return

·        Is hard to accurately judge someone's age

 

But first and foremost

these are children who need adults

to make wise decisions in the children's best interest