Secretary of State for Children Charlotte Caubel announced several control measures for reception establishments after the observation of serious shortcomings in a center in Eure-et-Loir.
The government will ask the prefects and the departmental councils to carry out an audit and to reinforce the controls in the establishments welcoming children in care, in particular to check whether they have the necessary authorizations, indicated on Friday the Secretary of State responsible for the childhood, Charlotte Caubel.
“I asked for a flash survey to check the situation of the establishments and verify that they are indeed authorizedSaid Charlotte Caubel on Sud Radio. “We will strengthen controls (and) supervisionof these structures, she added.
The decision to launch thisauditfollows the recent closure of a home in Eure-et-Loir, managed by a private company on behalf of Childhood Social Assistance (ASE), and where serious shortcomings were noted during an inspection at the end of November. This establishment, asmall unit“, did not have authorization to accommodate these minors, underlined Charlotte Caubel.
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The check revealed the presence ofminors placed by other departments within this structure“, according to the departmental council and the prefecture, which denounced a “exploiting the vulnerability of childrenand reported the facts to the Chartres prosecutor’s office.
Recent increase in the number of children placed
“I was very surprised to see a company“, commented in this regard Charlotte Caubel on Sud Radio. (So far), “we did not have the for-profit sector on these subjects, I will be very vigilant about it because it is out of the question that the protection of our most vulnerable children will now become a business“, she added. According to Charlotte Caubel, the accommodation conditions of young people in this home in Eure-et-Loir are the subject of a criminal investigation. Asked by AFP, the Chartres prosecutor’s office did not respond.
This case comes against a backdrop ofsharp increase in the number of placements requested from the departments to protect children in danger“, had previously noted the Secretary of State, who asked for a reinforcement of the control teams in the prefectures.
France countsmore than a thousand» homes for placed minors: they are often managed byassociations that do their job very well in general, but a certain number of establishments do not fit into the regulatory frameworks and you have to go and see what is going on thereadded Charlotte Caubel.