Author: Tina Mihaljević
Our story is a presentation of two paths faced by parents of children with developmental difficulties, and the need to exercise the rights of their children in preschool age.
Although experts constantly emphasize the importance of early intervention and the need for the inclusion of all children in the work of preschool institutions, this segment of educational work in our country is still neglected, legally neglected and unregulated, which directly prevents the realization of basic children’s rights, especially the most vulnerable group – children with different developmental disabilities (TUR).
The most obvious example for our story is the case of mother M., who, in her desire to “start” the system and provide her daughter with an assistant throughout her stay in preschool, faced an obstacle from the competent ministry, whose minister did not even want to receive her mother for an interview . The disappointed mother addressed the minister publicly via a post on the local internet portal, after which the minister in question lashed out with all her ferocity, both at the mother and at our kindergarten where the child was staying at that time and where the child was provided with a personal assistant for 12 months , as far as the kindergarten was then able to secure funds for the costs of hiring an additional employee. I would like to point out that our kindergarten has not made a profit since the day it was founded (this information can be checked at the tax administration office), but nevertheless, with great effort and constant application to various projects in the country and abroad, we are trying to collect funds for the purpose of improving the living conditions of children with TUR, through ensuring continuous therapies, engagement of professional associates, regular professional development of team members, etc.
A bad legal solution that obliges preschool institutions to hire and pay personal assistants for children with developmental disabilities, and given the chronic lack of finances in preschool, the reason is that most preschool institutions do not want and cannot accept a child with TUR. We from our kindergarten have on several occasions addressed both the competent ministry and the city administration and emphasized the need to find an adequate legal solution, which will allow children with developmental difficulties to be equally included in the preschool system. Our proposal was not understood. Only thanks to the social sensitivity and awareness of our founder, the Austrian social organization Diakoniewerk, funds were found from various donors from the Republic of Austria, Canada, etc., which were used for this purpose. These funds are not sufficient to meet the needs at the level of the City of Livno, and it is necessary to find a systematic and permanent solution that will ensure the satisfaction of these children’s basic rights.
The case had an epilogue when M.’s mother was joined by the mothers of other children with TUR who requested that the local authorities provide their children with assistants as a prerequisite for the children’s stay in preschool institutions, which is also the recommendation of the commission that performs the categorization of children with TUR.
The prime minister of the cantonal government did not agree to a meeting with the mothers, even after an official reaction from the Office of the Ombudsman for Children’s Rights. The mothers were received by the mayor, and with the consent of the city councilors, provided funds for the salaries of personal assistants for six children who had a decision on the need for an assistant, from the competent Center for Social Work.
In the end, the same question always arises – until when will the most vulnerable among us have to go through the most difficult paths in order to realize basic rights and be treated by the system that we all pay for, as equal members of society?!
The media content was created as part of the project “Promoting Citizen Participation in Local Government”, which the Center for Civic Cooperation from Livno is implementing with the support of the National Foundation for Democracy (NED). The content and views expressed in the text are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of the Center for Civic Cooperation and the National Foundation for Democracy. The use of the content and its transfer to third parties is possible with the prior consent of the Center for Civic Cooperation.
Source: cgslivno.org
