Regulations Regarding the Out-of-family Care Support Centre

Issued pursuant to
Section 36.¹, Paragraphs three and four of
the Law on the Protection of the Children's Rights

I. General Provisions

1. The Regulation shall:

1.1. determine the criteria for the establishment of an out-of-family care support centre (hereinafter - the support centre), the procedures for the registration of support centres, as well as the requirements for support centres;

1.2. lay down the conditions whereby the State financing shall be provided to support centres, the amount of the financing, and also the procedures by which the support shall be provided.

2. The support centre shall provide a set of measures promoting the welfare, safety, and independence of children left without parental care, and also an increase in the number of foster families, particularly specialised foster families, and adopters, guardians, and guest families.

3. In order to ensure the supervision of fulfilling the requirements laid down in this Regulation for the support centre , the Ministry of Welfare (hereinafter - the Ministry) shall:

3.1. enter into a contract with the support centre in which the procedures for the supervision of the service and circulation of information, conditions for the submission of financial and statistical reports, and also other conditions of significance to the provision of the service are included;

3.2. grant the funds from the State budget provided for the provision and administration of the service;

3.3. grant funds from the State budget for the compensation of the expenditure associated with the establishment and arrangement of the support centre, by following the requirements and procedures laid down in this Regulation.

4. The funds from the State budget provided for the provision of the services referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation and administration of the service of the support centre shall be determined and granted by the Ministry in accordance with the funds granted for such purposes in the law on the State budget for the current year.

II. Procedures for the Registration of Support Centres

5. A merchant, association, or foundation which wishes to acquire the status of the support centre (hereinafter - the applicant) shall submit an application to the Ministry for the receipt of the status of the support centre. The following information shall be indicated in the application:

5.1. name;

5.2. registration number;

5.3. legal address;

5.4. contact details (telephone number, electronic mail address);

5.5. website (if the applicant has any);

5.6. address of the place of activity.

6. The applicant shall append the following documents to the application:

6.1. at least one letter of intent of the local government regarding the cooperation planned for the provision of the services referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation in the local government;

6.2. a description of the establishment of the support centre and the provision of the service, including information regarding the number of support centres to be established and the number of service provision points;

6.3. a confirmation that the specialists attracted by the support centre have experience of at least three years in work with children and families within the last five years;

6.4. a confirmation that the premises in which the service of the support centre is planned to be provided are suitable and equipped appropriately for the purpose of their use, and are suited for the provision of the services referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation.

7. If, upon examining the information provided by the applicant, the Ministry finds that the necessary information is missing from the application or the indicated information is incomplete, or that the documents referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation have not been appended, or if the Ministry has reasonable doubts as to the veracity of the provided information, the Ministry shall, within five working days, inform the applicant in writing of the need to correct the application or to provide additional information, and determine a time period for the elimination of deficiencies and provision of information.

8. The Ministry shall, within one month after receipt of all the necessary documents, evaluate the documents submitted by the applicant and take one of the following decisions:

8.1. the decision to grant the status of the support centre;

8.2. the decision to refuse to grant the status of the support centre.

9. The Ministry shall, within three working days after taking the decision referred to in Paragraph 8 of this Regulation, inform the applicant thereof in writing.

10. The decision referred to in Paragraph 8 of this Regulation may be contested within one month from the day of its entry into effect by submitting the relevant submission to the State Secretary of the Ministry. The decision of the State Secretary of the Ministry may be appealed to the Administrative District Court.

11. The Ministry shall ensure accumulation of information regarding such merchants, associations, or foundations to which the status of the support centre has been granted or withdrawn. Information shall be accumulated in the State information system "State Social Policy Monitoring Information System" under the supervision of the Ministry.

III. Requirements for the Support Centre

12. The support centre shall:

12.1. attract new foster families, guardians, adopters, guest families, particularly by encouraging an increase in the number of specialised foster families;

12.2. provide training to foster families, including specialised foster families, according to the training programme coordinated with the State Inspectorate for Protection of Children's Rights;

12.3. provide training to the potential adopters;

12.4. submit an opinion of a psychologist to the Orphan's and Custody Court on the suitability of the spouse (person) for the acquisition of the status of a foster family, the characterisation of the spouses (person), and information regarding the completion of the training programme;

12.5. submit an opinion of a psychologist to the Orphan's and Custody Court on the suitability of the foster family for the acquisition of the status of a specialised foster family in the relevant specialisation, the characterisation of the foster family, and information regarding the completion of the training programme;

12.6. if necessary, ensure the support of a psychologist and social worker during the training referred to in Sub-paragraph 12.2 of this Regulation and evaluation of the suitability of the foster family;

12.7. develop and implement a support plan for the foster family or specialised foster family and an individual development plan for the child placed therein;

12.8. ensure psychosocial support to foster families or specialised foster families, including to the child placed therein;

12.9. ensure support of specialists of the support centre, including the social worker and psychologist, to the foster family and specialised foster family;

12.10. each year provide training for the improvement of knowledge to foster families and specialised foster families in the amount of at least eight academic hours;

12.11. ensure the calculation and disbursement of the remuneration for the fulfilment of the duties of a specialised foster family, and the disbursement of a one-time compensation for the arrangement of a dwelling to specialised foster families;

12.12. upon a request of the Orphan's and Custody Court, provide information regarding the foster family or specialised foster family, including the child, as well as regarding the services provided;

12.13. ensure consultations of a psychologist and support groups to adopters, guardians, guest families and, upon a request of the Orphan's and Custody Court, provide an opinion;

12.14. ensure cooperation with Orphan's and Custody Courts, social services, support centres, and other institutions in the provision of support to foster families and specialised foster families, including to the child placed in the family;

12.15. within one working day provide information to the Orphan's and Custody Court regarding the circumstances that can significantly influence the activity of the foster family or specialised foster family or care of the child placed therein;

12.16. organise the communication of the child placed in the foster family or specialised foster family with parents, brothers (half-brothers), sisters (half-sisters), relatives, or persons close to the child;

12.17. at any time of the day or night provide information to the Orphan's and Custody Court or the police regarding crisis foster families that can immediately accept a child into their care.

13. The support centre shall enter into an agreement with the spouses (person) who have been recognised as suitable for the fulfilment of the duties of a foster family by a decision of the Orphan's and Custody Court, the foster family, and the specialised foster family on the provision of support which includes provision of the services referred to in Sub-paragraphs 12.2, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9, and 12.10 of this Regulation. The support centre shall, within three working days, inform the Orphan's and Custody Court of the concluded agreement.

14. The support centre shall enter into a contract with the specialised foster family, providing for the disbursement of remuneration for the fulfilment of the duties of a specialised foster family and disbursement of a one-time compensation for arrangement of the dwelling in accordance with Sub-paragraph 12.11 of this Regulation. The support centre shall, within three working days, inform the Orphan's and Custody Court of the concluded contract.

15. The support centre shall arrange a file on each foster family or specialised foster family.

IV. Coverage of Establishment Expenditure and Procedures for the Financing of the Support Centre

16. Based on the establishment costs of the support centre, the Ministry shall grant a one-time compensation to the support centre for its establishment and arrangement, but its amount shall not exceed EUR 10 000, if:

16.1. the support centre has a valid contract referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation;

16.2. the support centre has at least 50 valid agreements referred to in Paragraph 13 of this Regulation and at least 10 contracts referred to in Paragraph 14 of this Regulation on the disbursement of the remuneration for the fulfilment of the duties of a specialised foster family and a one-time compensation for arrangement of a dwelling;

16.3. the support centre as the service provider has been registered for at least nine months, but for not more than 24 months prior to submission of the documents referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation to the Ministry.

17. In order to receive the compensation of expenditure for the establishment and arrangement of the support centre, the service provider shall submit the following documents to the Ministry:

17.1. an application for the receipt of the compensation for the establishment and arrangement of the support centre;

17.2. the expenditure estimate for the repair of buildings or premises, for the purchase of furniture and equipment, including computer hardware, as well as the estimate of other expenditure associated with the adaptation of premises and available resources for the provision of the service;

17.3. upon a request of the Ministry - the documents corroborating the expenditure indicated in the estimate referred to in Sub-paragraph 17.2 of this Regulation (repair contracts and contracts of other services, invoices, work acceptance and delivery deeds, bills of lading, receipts, and other documents certifying the expenditure).

18. The Ministry shall, within one month, examine the documents referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation, assess the eligibility of expenditure and their necessity for the provision of the service, and take the decision to:

18.1. grant the compensation for the establishment and arrangement of the support centre and its amount;

18.2. refuse to grant the compensation of expenditure for the establishment and arrangement of the support centre to the service provider, indicating the reasons for taking such decision and procedures for its contesting.

19. The Ministry shall disburse the one-time compensation to the support centre within one month after the day when the decision referred to in Sub-paragraph 18.1 of this Regulation was taken.

20. The support centre shall submit a report to the Ministry on the provision of the services referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation in accordance with the procedures specified in the contract referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation.

21. The support centre may use the funds provided for service administration expenses:

21.1. to cover the following for the employees involved in administration of the service:

21.1.1. remuneration;

21.1.2. transport expenses;

21.2. payment of rent, management expenses of premises and utility services, purchase of office hardware and equipment, stationery;

21.3. other expenditure related to the administration of the service.

22. The procedures for the provision of a report on provision of the service and the deadline for the provision of the report shall be determined in the contract referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation. The contract shall specify that the funds provided for service administration expenditure must not exceed the amount calculated, using the following formula:

F = A + B + C + D, where

F - the financial resources to be allocated for the administration of the service of the support centre;

A - funds which do not exceed 10 % of the funding planned for the training and preparation of families and foster families until the Orphan's and Custody Court takes the decision to grant the status of a foster family or specialised foster family or to refuse to grant the relevant status;

B - funds which do not exceed 10 % of the funding planned for the provision of the service to foster families and specialised foster families;

C - funds which do not exceed 3 % of the remuneration for the fulfilment of the duties of a specialised foster family disbursed to specialised foster families;

D - funds which do not exceed 10 % of the costs of the service referred to in Sub-paragraphs 12.3 and 12.13 of this Regulation.

V. Closing Provisions

23. The Ministry shall ensure entry of the information referred to in Paragraph 11 of this Regulation in the State information system "State Social Policy Monitoring Information System" after the operation of the relevant functionality is commenced. Until commencement of operation, the Ministry shall ensure manual accumulation of the relevant information.

24. The support centre shall ensure entry of the information referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation in the State information system "State Social Policy Monitoring Information System" after the operation of the relevant functionality is commenced. Until commencement of operation, the service shall be accounted for and reports shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of the contract referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation.

25. Sub-paragraphs 12.3 and 12.13 of this Regulation shall come into force on 1 January 2019.

26. This Regulation shall come into force on 1 July 2018.

Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Acting for the Minister for Welfare,
Minister for Education and Science Kārlis Šadurskis

Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)