On May 5, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Ms. Anahit Manasyan, along with representatives of Human Rights Defender’s Office, conducted an unannounced monitoring visit to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs’ Yerevan Child Support Centre "ZATIK" SNCO.
The visit involved examining the residential area, sanitary and communal facilities, child care, medical services, food provision, the employees’ and children’s rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as relevant documentation for compliance with established standards and applicable requirements. Special attention was paid to issues related to children’s social inclusion, communication with families and relatives, and the guarantee of the child’s best interests through on-site inspections, interviews, individual conversations with children and specialists, and document reviews.
A number of problems were registered, some of which are systemic and common in many other child care and protection institutions.
In particular, the following issues were registered at the institution:
• Personal space requirements are not observed. Beds are either connected or placed very close to each other in the rooms. There were cases where boys were temporarily transferred to the girls' building due to a lack of space. There were no side cabinets in the rooms, in some instances, one broken, unusable, and unlocked closet was shared by 3 or 4 children.
• Children are not provided with the necessary conditions to independently meet their personal needs. Many bathroom doors cannot be locked from the inside, and shower cabins are separated only by partitions, some of which are missing.
• Poor Sanitary Conditions: Laundry, including underwear, is done without individualisation and proper sorting, resulting in cases where different children wear the same clothing. The cups available in the kitchen reserved for children did not correspond to the number of children. In the children's kitchen, only six cups were available for 14 children. Personal items such as bedding, towels, and combs are individualized without appropriate markings.
• Inadequate Development Conditions: The institution does not provide a safe, age-appropriate environment for children’s development. There is no designated area or furniture for homework preparation, and programs in accordance with age-specific characteristics and interests are not planned to organize the children's daily lives. As a result, school-age children prepare their lessons after the younger children go to sleep. There are no opportunities to attend sports or cultural activities outside the institution. Television serves as the main activity. Television throughout the visit was turned on at high volume with content inappropriate for the age and developmental capabilities of the children in the girls' group. While, in the boys’ group, the television was not turned on for about 2 months due to a malfunction in the console.
• There are no real opportunities for children to participate in decisions affecting them or exercise their right to be heard and submit complaints. The complaint box is placed in the administrative area, and the children are unaware of its existence.
• Cases of intervention affecting tcontact between the child and family, and the maintenance of family ties, have been registered.There have been instances where children’s interactions with their families were monitored by staff members during visits and phone calls.
• The building is not adapted for the needs of children with disabilities.
• The first aid kit was absent during the visit. The room designated for medical services also served as a reception area, the doctor's office, and the on-call nurse’s rest area. There is no standardized format for maintaining children’s medical documentss.
• The institution is not equipped with a vehicle for transporting children, significantly limiting their interaction with society.
• The existing needs assessment process does not ensure individualized evaluation due to the lack of child-centred guidelines, professional formats, and regulations.
• There are no clear formats for documentation, collection, compilation of information, and case management concerning children. As a result, the goals set for a specific child’s development, the concrete steps taken in that direction, and the outcomes remain unclear to the multidisciplinary team. The records on the actual work done by specialists are not systematic or efficient and do not contain clear information about the child’s real needs.
• Effective collaboration is lacking both within the multidisciplinary team and between the institution and the school, which results in a lack of a unified child-centred professional approach based on the best interests of the child.
• There are issues in the process of placing children in foster families and organizing their care. For instance, cases have been registered where the same child was placed in two different foster families. However, after some time, those families refused to continue providing care, which had a negative psychological impact on the child.
• During private conversations with children and staff members, they reported incidents of physical and psychological violence by staff members towards children, children towards staff, and among children themselves.
• There is no register for recording either suspicious or confirmed cases of violence against children or among children, nor for reporting such cases to the competent authorities.
• Problems were identified in the organization of work in the dining hall and kitchen. The kitchen staff faces disproportionate workloads and overlapping functions. During the visit, the portion sizes and meal times were not clearly indicated on the menu. The food sampling procedures did not comply with the requirements established by legislation of the RA.
• Expired flour and red pepper, as well as expired hygiene and cleaning products, were discovered. Additionally, the meat products in the kitchen’s freezer had no labeling indicating their expiration dates.
• The working conditions for staff members are inadequate, and there is a shortage of human resources.
The registered issues were discussed by the representatives of the Human Rights Defender’s Office with the institution’s administration.
The issues will be summarized, and a document reflecting these problems, along with suggestions for their resolution, will be addressed to the relevant authorities.
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