Yesterday, the Plenary Session has given the final green light to the Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents, after the approval of the amendments introduced in the Senate.
The text modifies a total of twenty laws that mainly seek to protect the most vulnerable, minors, against situations of helplessness or any type of violence. At the time we did it with the draft, and now we highlight again, in a definitive way, what are the main keys of the new law.
Sex offender registry
A Central Registry of sex offenders will be created under the Ministry of Justice that will be public and inform the identity of the convicted and their genetic DNA profile.
Those who wish to work in contact with children (pediatricians, monitors, teachers, etc.) will have to provide a background certificate proving that they have not been previously convicted of crimes against minors.
Before hiring a person, the institution, entity, the individual or the contracting administration must check through this registry if the candidate has a criminal record for crimes against sexual freedom and indefinity, trafficking in human beings or the exploitation of minors .
Work has already begun on the creation of the Registry and it is expected that it may be approved and in operation before the general elections are called at the end of the year.
The concept of homelessness is modified
In the current Civil Code refers to homelessness when there is "a moral and material lack", so that poverty and disability could be seen as a situation of helplessness to separate children from their parents.
According to the new law, they can only be separated when there is abuse by the parents or guardians of the child.
Victims of gender violence
Children exposed to a situation of gender violence will be considered victims, like their mothers, and prevents the murderer from collecting the widow's pension from his victim.
Host system
It is intended to keep foster children within a family environment rather than residences and shelters, so Family foster care will be prioritized for children under six.
In addition, the process is dejudicialized so that it will not be necessary to have the approval of the family of origin when choosing the host family. It will be the administration that decides where it lodges the minor without the resource of the biological parents condemning him to remain in a center, as it has been happening.
This will help reduce the waiting time for children in residential care who spend many years supervised by the Administration, some from birth until they turn 18.
Adoptions
The intention is to regulate the criteria of suitability of families They adopt and thus streamline and simplify the process, especially when it comes to children under three years.
One of the articles of the new law specifies that “prior to the Public Entity formulating the corresponding proposal to the Judge for the constitution of the adoption, the provisional coexistence between the minor and the persons considered suitable for such adoption can be initiated until it is issue the appropriate judicial resolution, in order to avoid that the child has to remain during that time in a protection center or with another family ”.
In addition, open adoption is created, allowing the child don't cut ties with your biological family provided that the three parties (adopters, biological family and minor) so wish.
UPGRADE:
The reform will take effect on August 11, 2015
