No such thing as other people's children? Riga is ready to pay 585 euros for adoption 0 11

Unwanted Child

A few years ago, a ban on adoption from abroad was enacted at the level of the Saeima. But have Latvians been able to replace foreign adopters?

The trend of decreasing care for abandoned children is unfortunately serious. Over the past 5 years, the number of guardians has decreased by 30%! "The connections between relatives have weakened, and alienation has set in," said A. Krasnogolov, adding that the orphan court is meant to resolve conflicts in families, and recently there has been a clear indication of "high social tension."

Children are increasingly being taken to crisis centers instead of being cared for by, for example, grandmothers or aunts.

– We encounter many cases daily where teenagers want to leave home. There are cases of self-harm, – reported from the Children's Clinical Hospital.

In the practice of the Orphan Court, there are even shocking cases – a squealing bundle found in the middle of the night. A mother abandoned her helpless child – in the capital of an EU and NATO member state...

Own and Adapted

The opposition reminded that many adopted children have psychological traumas and need therapy: "They want a real family, which they cannot have."

In this sense, it would be logical to equalize foster parents – and grant them the right to paid leave. "One adopted child can be more challenging than one of their own." However, this should be decided by the Saeima.

– You are cynical in your statements, – suddenly spoke out MP Linda Ozola ("New Unity"). The ruling party took credit for raising the salaries of orphan court employees.

Chairwoman of the Social Committee Inese Andersone (also "New Unity") announced that municipal authorities would conduct a broad communication campaign, although this is "not only a Riga problem, but a national one."

No Need to Rush?

Director of the Welfare Department of the Riga City Council Inara Kondrate proposed a truly revolutionary approach – for each foster family to receive a municipal allowance of 75% of the established minimum wage in the country, i.e., 585 euros per month.

In addition to the state budget support of 390 euros until the age of 6 and 468 euros until the age of 17, this will already be a substantial amount.

Moreover, once a year, foster children will receive from the municipality an allowance for purchasing clothing and "soft inventory" of 200 euros until the age of 7 and 250 euros until the age of 18. Overall, the city budget is ready to spend 2,835,660 euros.

However, this caused discontent among the ruling party.

– We want to patch all the holes with money. But you cannot paint the ceiling with expensive paint if the roof is leaking, – said MP Lauris Erenpreiss (National Alliance). He believes that the Riga City Council needs to conduct long-term work with children, the results of which will be known in about ten years.