Proposed articles related to the advancement of child protection forms for children without parental care which are addressed by KOMF together with member organizations SOS Children’s Villages Kosovo, Organization for Children without Parental Care OFAP and partners UNICEF Office in Kosovo and the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers, have been approved by the Government in the Draft Civil Code.

Specifically, in the Draft Civil Code the main approved proposals which are expected to affect the advancement of the protection of children without parental care are:

• The introduction for the first time of the new form of protection: Supervised Independent Living – which means providing support for children without parental care after the age of 18 to strengthen their skills for independent living This means that in cases where no solution is found for children without parental care who are in foster care or residential care after reaching adulthood, institutional support will continue. The Custodian Body will assess and determine the children and young people who will benefit from this form of protection. The support can be extended for a certain period, for specific cases, after a needs assessment by the guardianship body, but not longer than the age of 26, including the cases when they are attending school.

• Other very important proposals adopted are about shortening the legal deadlines in the adoption procedures, specifically, for cases where the parent has abandoned the child and his whereabouts are unknown. Also, the proposals aim at advancing foster care and residential care.

Considering the innovations brought by the Draft Civil Code and the expected changes in the lives of children without parental care, KOMF together with the partners calls for this draft code to be treated with priority by the Assembly of Kosovo in order to approve and enter into force.