You have the right to be cared for by your parents and this is protected by the human right called the right to a family life. Your parents also have the right and obligation to care for you.
Parental rights
Your parents have parental rights over you which means that they have to care for you and your property and, where necessary, also represent you. Parental care is absolutely necessary to make sure that you have proper living conditions and everything else that you need to grow up and develop. Your parents’ right to have custody parental rights over you is also protected by the human right to a family life.
Your parents exercise custody over you only until you reach the age of majority. Normally both of your parents share parental custody rights over you, but there may be situations where only one of your parents has these rights. This is called separate parental custody rights. Read more about different types of parental rights.
If, for some reason, you have been separated from your family, you may be cared for by other people - a legal guardian, foster parents or employees of a child care institution.
Care
Your parents must care for you. This means that they must cover the costs of your everyday needs, health care, upbringing and education. These costs are also called maintenance costs. Parental care and the fact that you have everything you need is very important for your complete mental and physical development.
Supervision
Parents have to make sure that you are safe and, as far as reasonably possible, protect you from danger or harm that other persons may cause.
Determination of the place of residence
You have the right to have a constant place to live. Your parents choose this place. They may choose:
- the geographical place of residence, namely, the particular country and city/town, and
- the particular home
Read more about parental rights from the parent’s perspective.
Restrictions on parental care
If one or both of your parents do not care for you or otherwise abuse their parental rights, for example, if they are violent towards you, you may be taken into social care without the withdrawal of your parents’ rights or your parents’ rights may be withdrawn.
Taking a child out of the family without the withdrawal of parental rights & Withdrawal of parental rights
In certain situations, the local guardian authority can take you out of the family and place in social care without the withdrawal of your parents’ rights, but only a court can withdraw them completely or to permanently decide for you to be in social care. This can only be done if it is in your best interests and if it is allowed by the Family Code.
example You may be taken into social care without the withdrawal of either your parents’ rights if he/she cannot care for you. This can also happen if a parent has been violent towards you or your life or health has been endangered while you were in their care.
The placement of a child into social care without the withdrawal of parental rights means that one or both of your parents are not allowed to care for you temporarily. This means that, after a while, if the situation has changed, the state authorities may allow a particular parent, or both, to care for you again.
Withdrawal means that the parental rights over you of a parent are taken away permanently.
Read more about what the placement of a child into social care without withdrawing parental rights and withdrawal of parental rights means.
Consequences
While one parent’s rights are withdrawn, your other parent will care for you. If it is not possible or both of your parents’ rights are withdrawn, the local guardian authority will decide on your placement into social care. In such case, other persons - a legal guardian, a foster family or a child care institution etc. – will care for you.
Read more about separation from your family.
Aspects for evaluation
There are several aspects that have to be evaluated when state authorities are deciding whether to withdraw your parents’ rights. As a primary consideration, these authorities must always take your best interests into account. The withdrawal of parental rights must be done properly according to law, otherwise it may violate your and your parents’ human right to a family life.
Read more about the aspects that have to be taken into account in making decisions about the placement of a child in social care without the withdrawal of parental rights or withdrawal of parental rights.
Who can help you?
If you feel that your parents put you in danger, severely restrict your rights or you have other issues that you cannot resolve, you may turn for help to the local guardian authority. There should be a local guardian authority responsible for your locality. It is the state authority that is competent to deal with these situations. The local guardian authority will then decide whether it is necessary to urgently intervene by taking you out of the family or request a withdrawal of a parent’s rights. It can listen to your opinion and decide to take you out of your family if this is in your best interests.
Read more about who can help you.