Protection of children and families in Hérault: serious and crucial issues

Un programme de création de 700 places supplémentaires a été autorisé. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

A new roadmap was presented this Monday during the Department Council session. In seven years, this budget allocated to policy in favor of children and families has increased by 42%.

This is a constantly increasing budget which will reach 219 M€ in 2024. Child and family protection is a competence of the Departmental Council with crucial issues, ranging from maternal and child protection to the reception of unaccompanied minors.

This Monday, during its session, the elected officials of the community almost unanimously validated the new roadmap for these services and partners for the next five years, until 2028. 

Recruitment problem

A plan which aims in particular to develop early prevention of difficulties, to adapt support systems to the needs of families and children and to facilitate cooperation between the different care stakeholders. And, in terms of child protection, to expand the number of reception places. "Protection measures increased by 13% in 2023" recalls the vice president responsible for these issues, Véronique Calueba, who parallels the decrease in the number of family assistants, "108 lost between 2017 and 2023".

To meet this demand, a program to strengthen reception capacities was launched for an increase of 700 additional places including 60 for emergency, 450 for unaccompanied minors and 28 for emergency. welcoming siblings. However, the realization of this effort, estimated at 35 million euros, faces two obstacles. "Recruitment difficulties in the professions of educators and those linked to the search for land" note Véronique Calueba. "We have created 414 places but this requires human and financial resources. And we have a problem recruiting family assistants" relays Kléber Mesquida, estimating the "reproaches" addressed internally "unfounded". 

In 2023, the Hérault child welfare services recorded 1,476 so-called “concerning” information about children. 6,162 minors and young adults were taken into care.

Autonomy: the prefiguring Hérault

Experimentation The Department was retained by the State services to experiment with the establishment of the departmental public service of the& rsquo;autonomy. This one-stop shop will be open to all elderly people or people with disabilities to obtain precise information on rights. The system must be extended to all departments in 2025. 

Insertion The departmental assembly has decided to support the candidacy of Pézenas for the Territory zero long-term unemployment system duration, already successfully implemented in Lodève. The Montpellier-Grabels candidacy is also the subject of support from the Department.

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