Child must live in family: UNICEF and Armenia’s Government implement new program by this principle

YEREVAN, 1 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. According to the survey conducted by UNICEF, today about 4,500 children live in the 42 state and private orphanages, boarding and special schools, which take care and protect the children in Armenia. The 90 percent of those children come from the needy families and have at least one parent. By the agreement signed between UNICEF and USAID in September of the last year, it is planned to provide support to the Government of Armenia in the sector of reforming the system of child care and protection. The Head of UN Children's Fund Office for Child Protection Section in Armenia Anna Harutyunyan during the interview with Armenpress told at which stage is the program, which aims at improving the alternative versions of the care and stopping the influx of children to the boarding care and special educational institutions through the development of the community services, as well as returning the children in those institutions to family environment.

- At which stage is the implementation of the program?

- At this moment, the preparation of the documents providing legislative and legal basis and their approval by the Government are being carried out, so that the process holds. In December of the last year, particularly an amendment was made in the law on the General Education in the case of the special schools, due to which the special schools should become inclusive education services and pedagogical resource centers. And about the care institutions, there is also the necessity of legislative changes and at this stage we are working on the implementation of changes in the law regarding the care and adoption.

- Is the Armenian society ready to take a child from an orphanage?

- The society is ready to some extent, and many more will be ready when they are informed about it, to which we have not yet reached. However, since 2006, we have experience in the care. With the assistance of the UNICEF, 25 families in different time periods took care of about 65 children of different ages. Among them there are also successful cases. The program was implemented in Gegharkunik and Lori provinces. This is considered as a job, though the child gets the opportunity to live within a family. The handling program cannot be done without care service, because obviously there is a large number of children who do not have the opportunity to return to their biological families or find people close to the family, who will take the custody of the child. (FULL VERSION OF INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE IN ARMENIAN).

Interview by Anahit Minasyan