Bill 111.

Summary.

The bill would apply to children and adolescents without family care in the Republic of Panama. Family foster care would be available only with Panamanian families or foreigners holding permanent resident cards. Its purposes include restoring family life, protecting children separated from their families, and progressively placing children living in shelters in family settings. Judges would refer cases involving infringement of this right to the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Secretaría Nacional de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia) within no more than forty-eight hours. Measures would follow the best interests of the child, necessity, temporary duration, and periodic review. Lack of material resources alone would not justify separation. Siblings would be kept together where possible, and relatives would be identified using information from the Civil Registry (Registro Civil). Interpretation would draw, among other sources, on the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama (Constitución Política de la República de Panamá), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño), the American Convention on Human Rights (Convención Americana de Derechos Humanos), the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Comité de los Derechos del Niño), the United Nations Organization (Organización de Naciones Unidas), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Corte Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos), and United Nations (Naciones Unidas) guidelines.

Foster care is defined as temporary protection aimed at family reunification. Placement could be with blood relatives, close people without kinship ties, or approved volunteer or family-friend foster families; residential care would be the last alternative. A foster family would have priority for consideration if a child in its care were declared eligible for adoption and the family were willing and qualified. Related foster families could receive social-program support; the Family Code (Código de la Familia) would govern the stated guardianship responsibilities. The bill establishes emergency residential and family placements lasting no more than six months and temporary family placement lasting at most two years, subject to the extension provided for in the bill. It also sets grounds for ending placements and requires confidentiality in related proceedings.

The Family Foster Care System would be administered by the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family. It would prepare plans and protocols, train families and staff, authorize and supervise shelters, maintain medical and school records, and conduct monthly monitoring visits. Participants would include children in care, their families, judicial authorities, the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministerio Público), the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud), and the Children's Hospital (Hospital del Niño). Entry would follow a judicial or administrative request, with the Secretariat involved in every case. If a birth had not been registered, the court or Secretariat would request registration from the National Civil Registry Directorate (Dirección Nacional de Registro Civil). Children in care would have rights to be heard, maintain authorized family contact, receive care and support, submit complaints, and access information about their origins upon reaching adulthood. Preparation for independent living is provided from age sixteen or from entry into the system in the specified cases.

In selecting foster families, the bill prioritizes relatives, extended family, community members connected to the child, and registered volunteer or family-friend families. It excludes, among others, people convicted of intentional crimes, legal entities, and certain officials of the Judicial Branch (Órgano Judicial) and Public Prosecutor's Office. Applicants seeking approval as volunteer or family-friend foster families would submit identity, medical, psychological, social, and background documents; complete training; and undergo assessment. The Secretariat would decide suitability, which would last two years and could be renewed, suspended, or revoked. The bill provides deadlines for admitting and assessing applications and renewing approval, an appeal against revocation, confidential records, and a register of approved families. Foster carers would receive information and support and would have to care for the child, facilitate authorized family ties, report significant events, and cooperate with monitoring. The ordinary limit would be up to two children or adolescents, with an exception for sibling groups.

Shelters would require authorization, registration, and supervision. They would have to use individual plans, meet health and educational needs, support family relationships, and prepare children to leave. Family placement would take priority, particularly for children under six years of age. Residential placement of children under three would be subject to the stated exceptions and, as a general rule for these children, would last no more than three months. The Secretariat would inspect facilities at least quarterly. Family foster care would be formalized by an administrative resolution following assessment of the family. A reunification plan prepared with the child and both families would receive monthly monitoring and a monthly report. Judicial orders concerning placements still in effect would be sent to the Secretariat within the transitional period provided. The bill would repeal provisions of Law 46 of July 17, 2013 and would take effect on the day after its promulgation.

Its provisions concern Panama's child protection, health, justice, and civil registration authorities. They could be of interest to or affect birth and foster families, shelters, nongovernmental organizations, health, education and social work professionals, and children and adolescents subject to protection measures.