Future for Children: Providing Comprehensive Social Care for Unaccompanied Migrant and Refugee Children

Most of the refugees and migrants arriving in Bulgaria are unaccompanied children. They are exposed to many risks on their way. Many of them have experienced violence, sexual exploitation, rape, trafficking, forced marriage and/or strong emotional or psychological pressure during their journey. According to the Bulgarian legislation, a minor or a minor foreigner who is on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and is not together with his/her parent (s) or another adult who is responsible for him/her by law or custom is "unaccompanied". Upon identification of an unaccompanied minor on the territory of the country, a police authority shall hand over the child to an employee of the Child Protection Department for taking a measure for placement outside the family under the Child Protection Act. At the same time, the initial identification and referral of unaccompanied children to social services within the national child protection system is hindered due to the language barrier and the lack of financial and administrative capacity of service providers. Therefore, there is a risk that measures will be taken against the child without taking into account his/her interests, their impact on his/her well-being, as well as the forced placement of the child in the SCTAF due to incorrect identification. The difficulties identified above apply to finally rejected unaccompanied children, those who have not applied for or received international protection. This draft proposal aims to create a specialized social service for refugee and migrant children. This will be achieved through a new project, which includes various institutions directly related to migrants and refugees in Bulgaria. The project and its specific objectives include: - Repair and furnishing of a building, municipal property, for short-term and long-term accommodation of refugee and migrant children; - Providing specialized social services to refugee and migrant children.

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