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The unit receives about six of such cases on a daily basis and some of the children  make such reports  in  the company of their teachers.

The Head of the unit, Ms Gifty Tekpor, noted that the cases the children mostly reported to them included non-payment of school fees by their parents and failure to provide school books, clothing, feeding fees, medical care and lack of affection from their parents.

Ms Tekpor said although adults, especially mothers, reported their husbands more for lack of child maintenance, other people such as police officers, neighbours, assembly members, teachers and politicians also reported such cases.

She said the children who made the reports  were usually in the primary, junior high or senior high schools.
She commended the efforts of the children for the  bold step  and encouraged them to inform their mates who had similar problems to do same, adding that there were no charges  for making a report.

Making reference to the law, she said children had the right to file for non-maintenance, adding that the Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560), Section 47 (1) talked about how a child could ask for maintenance from parents with regard to health issues, education, reasonable shelter, among others.

“Similarly, the Domestic Violence Act 732 (2007), Section 1b (I) supports a child who has been deprived of adequate food, clothing, shelter and education to file for help,” she added.

“We see children who are able to report their parents to us for non-maintenance as responsible people coming out to fight for their rights. We respect them more. Children shouldn’t fear to come to us because we are here to listen and assist them.  We encourage them to inform others with similar problems to come to us,” she advised.

On whether or not children reporting their parents to them would affect the relationship between them, Ms Tekpor gave the assurance that Social Welfare was a friend who would make sure the family did what was expected of it.

“We are social workers and children are our priority. When you make the report, a Social Welfare officer or a close relation of the child will sit in on your behalf so that you do not have problems later.”

“You are vulnerable and cannot fight for yourself.  That is why we are trained to stand in. When parents are in conflict with each other, they use children as a field to fight. We are here to ensure that parents, despite their differences, do the right thing for children, so they should rest assured that when they come, we will protect them and make sure they get what they need,” she assured.

On how long it took to resolve non-maintenance cases reported to them by children, she said it did not take more than a week.

She explained that normally when the children reported their parents to them for non-maintenance, they invited the parents and depending on how quick they were able to get to them, the case was resolved, adding that: “We know they are in school so we treat it urgently.”

On how they handled the cases of children who did not have shelter, Ms Tekpor said after investigations, the parent who did not have custody of the child was forced to rent a place for the child.

“Children who do not have parents are sent to the department’s children’s home or its shelter for abused children while the unit works towards providing them with foster care,” she added.

The breakdown of child non-maintenance cases reported to the unit over the years is as follows: 2019, 469 cases; 2018, 504 cases; 2017, 386 cases and 2016, 206 cases. From January to February 18, 2020, 114 cases have been reported.

Ms Tekpor said the outfit would this year visit schools to sensitise the children to their rights. She, therefore, advised schools to invite them so they could educate the children about their services.

Highlight
Child maintenance is money paid by one of the parents to the other towards the child’s everyday living costs. They cover educational needs such as the payment of fees, uniforms, books, health, shelter, clothing and affection, which includes showing love and care towards a child.

Failure to provide these things to a child by parents is referred to as non-maintenance. Under the law, children who are 18 years and below qualify for maintenance. Similarly, children who are above 18 years but are still in school or under an apprenticeship programme should be taken care of by their parents.