Chương 4 Luật Bảo vệ, chăm sóc và giáo dục trẻ em 2004: Bảo vệ, chăm sóc và giáo dục trẻ em có hoàn cảnh đặc biệt

Chapter IV

PROTECTION, CARE AND EDUCATION OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN

Article 40.- Disadvantaged children

Disadvantaged children include orphans having no one to rely on, abandoned children; defective and disabled children; children being victims of toxic chemicals; children infected with HIV/AIDS; children doing hard or hazardous jobs or contacting noxious substances; children working far from their families; street children; sexually-abused children; children addicted to narcotics and juvenile offenders.

Article 41.- The work of protection, care and education of disadvantaged children

1. In the work of child protection, care and education, importance must be attached to preventing and stopping children from falling into disadvantaged circumstances; promptly handling and alleviating children's disadvantaged circumstances; constantly supporting disadvantaged children in health and mental restoration and moral education; detecting, preventing and promptly handling acts of letting children fall into disadvantaged circumstances.

2. The care for and nurture of disadvantaged children shall be carried out mainly at their families or surrogate families. The care for and nurture of disadvantaged children in child-support establishments shall only apply to those children who are not cared for, or brought up in their families or surrogate families.

3. To create conditions for disadvantaged children to study at schools or special education establishments.

Article 42.- State's policies towards disadvantaged children

1. The State shall adopt policies to create conditions for disadvantaged children to enjoy children's rights; support individuals and families that undertake to care for and bring up children; encourage organizations and individuals to support children or set up child-support establishments in order to ensure that all disadvantaged children having no one to rely on be cared for and brought up.

2. The People's Committees at all levels have the responsibility to organize the care for, and nurture of, disadvantaged children at their families, surrogate families or public/non-public child-support establishments.

3. The concerned ministries and branches have the responsibility to provide professional guidance for child-support establishments in handling and alleviating children's disadvantaged circumstances, restoring their health or mental conditions and providing moral education to them.

Article 43.- Forms of support for disadvantaged children

Forms of support for disadvantaged children include:

1. Voluntary contributions in cash or kind;

2. Adopting, sponsoring or acting as surrogate families to take care of, and bring up, disadvantaged children;

3. Taking part in the care for, and nurture of, disadvantaged children;

4. Organizing activities to help children alleviate their disadvantaged circumstances, restore their health or mental conditions, and providing them moral education for them.

Article 44.- Conditions for setting up child-support establishments

Agencies, organizations and individuals that wish to set up child-support establishments have to meet the following conditions:

1. Their material foundations and equipment are suitable to the contents of child support activities;

2. Their personnel have professional qualifications suitable to the contents of child-support activities;

3. Their financial sources are capable of covering expenses for child-support activities.

Article 45.- Dossiers of application for setting up child-support establishments

1. Agencies, organizations and individuals that wish to set up child-support establishments must acquire operation licenses from competent State management agencies.

2. The dossier of application for setting up a child-support establishment includes:

a/ The application for setting up the child-support establishment;

b/ The scheme on setting up the child-support establishment;

c/ The papers and documents proving that the applicant fully meets the conditions for setting up a child-support establishment as prescribed in Article 44 of this Law;

d/ The draft operation regulation of the child-support establishment;

e/ The curriculum vitae of the person in charge of setting up the child-support establishment;

f/ The consent of the commune-level People's Committee of the locality where the child-support establishment is headquartered.

3. When changing names, addresses, owners or operation contents of child-support establishments, the agencies, organizations or individuals that have set up such establishments must fill in the procedures for change of their operation licenses.

Article 46.- Time limit for licensing the setting up of child-support establishments

1. Within 30 days as from the date of receiving dossiers of application for setting up child-support establishments, the competent State management agencies must process them. In case of refusal, the reasons therefor must be stated in writing.

2. Child-support establishments must operate strictly according to the contents in their operation licenses.

Article 47.- Competence to set up, suspend operation and withdraw operation licenses of, child-support establishments

1. Competence to set up child-support establishments:

a/ The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall decide to set up child-support establishments under their respective management;

b/ The presidents of the provincial-level People's Committees shall decide to set up child-support establishments under their management;

c/ The presidents of the People's Committees of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capital or towns shall decide to set up child-support establishments under their respective management.

2. Child-support establishments committing one of the following violations shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, have their operations suspended or operation licenses withdrawn:

a/ Failing to maintain their conditions as at the time of application for setting up the establishments;

b/ Violating the approved operation regulations of their own establishments;

c/ Using operation funding of the establishments for purposes other than child supports;

d/ Infringing upon children's rights.

3. Agencies that have granted operation licenses for child-support establishments may suspend operation or withdraw operation licenses of such establishments.

Article 48.- Tasks and powers of establishments supporting disadvantaged children

Establishments supporting disadvantaged children have the following tasks and powers:

1. To organize the realization of one or a number of the registered contents of supporting disadvantaged children such as providing consultancy, medical examination and treatment, detoxification; rehabilitating functions, health and mental conditions for children, providing moral education; providing integration education, specialized education and vocational training; providing employment services; organizing social, cultural, sport and recreational activities for children; organizing child care and nurture;

2. To ensure the provision of convenient, safe and quality services;

3. To ensure funding for operation for the right purposes;

4. To undertake professional management and fostering; to manage the finance, equipment, facilities and assets;

5. To receive financial supports and supports in kind from domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals so as to organize activities in support of disadvantaged children.

Article 49.- Operation funding of establishments supporting disadvantaged children

The operation funding of establishments supporting disadvantaged children includes:

1. The State budget allocations for public child-support establishments;

2. Self-procured sources of agencies, organizations or individuals setting up child-support establishments;

3. Supports from domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals;

4. Contributions from families and relatives of disadvantaged children;

5. Other lawful revenue sources.

Article 50.- Service activities of child-support establishments

1. Child-support establishments that provide on-demand services on function rehabilitation, drug detoxification, HIV/AIDS treatment or vocational training for juvenile offenders; upbringing of children addicted to narcotics or infected with HIV/AIDS, and other services on demand, may collect service charges according to regulations or contractual agreements reached with children's families or guardians.

2. Children of poor households that have a demand for the said services may be considered by the heads of child-support establishments for service charge exemption or reduction on a case-by-case basis.

The Government shall specify the service charge rates and subjects entitled to service charge exemption and reduction.

Article 51.- Orphans having no one to rely on and abandoned children

1. Orphans having no one to rely on and abandoned children shall be assisted by the local People's Committees to have surrogate families or organizations to care for and bring them up at public or non-public child-support establishments.

2. The State encourages families and individuals to adopt children; agencies, organizations and individuals to sponsor children or take charge of the care for and nurture of, orphans with no one to rely on or abandoned children.

3. The State shall adopt policies to support families, individuals or non-public child-support establishments that care for and bring up orphans with no one to rely on or abandoned children.

Article 52.- Defective children, disabled children and children being victims of toxic chemicals

Defective children, disabled children and children being victims of toxic chemicals are supported and cared for by their families, the State and society; given conditions for early detection and treatment of their diseases, for function rehabilitation; admitted into integration classes or exclusive classes for defective and disabled children; and assisted in general education, vocational training, and participation in social activities.

Article 53.- Children infected with HIV/AIDS

Children infected with HIV/AIDS are not discriminated against but given conditions to be treated medically and brought up at their families or child-support establishments.

Article 54.- Children doing heavy or dangerous jobs or jobs in exposure to toxic substances, children working far from their families

1. The People's Committees at all levels have the responsibility to detect and settle in time the state of children doing heavy or dangerous jobs or jobs in exposure to toxic chemicals; create conditions for those children to learn or do jobs suitable to their health and age groups in their respective localities.

2. Parents and guardians have to maintain regular contact with children who have to work far from their families in order to help and educate them.

3. The commune-level People's Committees of the localities, where children work far from their families, have to create conditions for those children to live in a safe environment, be cared for and study, and temper themselves morally.

Article 55.- Street children

1. The provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where street children live shall coordinate with the provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where street children come from, in organizing for and supporting those children to return to their families; street children with no one to rely on shall be cared for and brought up at surrogate families or child-support establishments; street children from poor households shall be given priority and support to eliminate hunger and alleviate poverty.

2. For street children wandering with their families, the provincial-level People's Committees of the localities where those children and their families live shall have to request and create conditions for them to settle down and stabilize their life and to ensure that children can enjoy their rights.

3. The People's Committees at all levels have to create conditions for street children to live in a safe environment, not affected by social evils.

Article 56.- Sexually-abused children

1. Sexually-abused children are assisted by their families, the State and society through consultancy measures, physical and mental restoration, and given conditions to stabilize their life.

2. Agencies, organizations and individuals have the responsibility to undertake measures to educate, prevent, stop and denounce acts of sexually abusing children.

Article 57.- Children addicted to narcotics

1. Agencies and organizations involved in drug prevention and combat activities have to organize detoxification for addicted children at home or detoxification establishments exclusively for addicted children according to the provisions of the Law on Drug Prevention and Combat.

2. Detoxification establishments have the responsibility to create conditions for addicted children to take part in healthy and beneficial activities and make arrangement for them to stay in separate areas.

3. Addicted children being detoxified at compulsory detoxification establishments are not considered children subject to the handling of administrative violations.

Article 58.- Juvenile offenders

1. Juvenile offenders are educated and assisted by their families, the schools and society to redress their wrong-doings, have a sense of law observance, respect the rules of the social life and be responsible for themselves, their families and the society. The organization of education of juvenile offenders shall be effected mainly at communities or reformatories.

2. The handling of administrative liabilities, civil liabilities or examination for penal liabilities, of juvenile offenders, must comply with law provisions applicable to juveniles.

3. Juvenile offenders who have been handled through administrative or penal measures, separated from their communities for a certain duration, when returning to their families, shall be given conditions and assisted by the commune-level People's Committees in coordination with concerned agencies and organizations to continue their schooling, to learn and seek jobs.

4. In cases where children have completed their education duration or completely severed their penalties but still have no one to rely on, the provincial-level People's Committees shall send them to establishments supporting disadvantaged children and create conditions for them to learn and seek jobs.