At the sitting of the Committee on Labour, Ex-Servicemen’s and Social Issues, held on 10 May 2006, the Family and Children Protection Sector at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy presented its report on implementing Family Legislation.

As the Committee had unanimously adopted the complete 2005 Activity Report of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy at its sitting held on 14 March 2006, today’s sitting saw Committee members simply endorse the Family and Children Protection Sector’s report.

The report was presented by Slavka Lakicevic, Assistant to the Minister, whose presentation focused especially on the Sector’s legislative activities. After the passage of the Family Act, which came into effect on 1 July 2005, the Sector organised nine regional conferences to acquaint professionals from centres for social work, judges, public prosecutors and other institutions with provisions of the Act. She emphasised that the Act Amending and Modifying the Act on Financial Support for Families with Children had also begun to be implemented, as well as that the draft Children’s Ombudsman Act was currently being considered by the Republic Legislation Secretariat. A General Protocol for Protecting Children from Cruelty and Neglect and an Initial Framework for a National Violence Prevention Strategy were also under preparation.

The Family and Children Protection Sector is charged with co-operating with centres for social work throughout Serbia in facilitating adoptions of children with no parental care, cross-border adoptions, and foster family selection; advising and assisting centres for social work in implementing regulations governing adoption and foster families; and preparing brochures, manuals and other materials providing information about the implementation of laws and other regulations relating to the protection of families and children.

Committee members gave a positive assessment of the Sector’s activities.

The sitting was chaired by Committee chairperson Ivana Kovacevic, and attended by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, Vesna Piperski-Tucakov, and heads of the three sections of the Family and Children Protection Sector.