Voluntary organisations may now check child registry for free as part of screening for volunteers

Voluntary Organisations (VOs) may now benefit from requesting the law courts to check that prospective voluntary workers are not listed in the child registry free of charge thanks to an ongoing information campaign.

The child registry lists all those individuals who have been convicted of an offence related to minors, inclusive of sexual or violent offences.

Prior to this move, VOs had to pay €15 to ask the courts to check the registry and close to another €5 in notification fees. While some organisations are small, others are much bigger and this would make it easier for such organisations to act in line with the law.

The move was announced at a press conference addressed by Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici, Parliamentary Secretary for Sports, Youth and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima, Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations Kenneth Waine and the executive secretary of the Council of Voluntary Organisations, Mauro Pace Parascandalo.

In 2016, NGOs made a total of 419 requests for the courts to check the child registry, while in 2015, 2016 and 2017 together, some 800 requests were made.

The council has compiled an informative leaflet where the obligations and responsibilities of any organisation where adults and minors come into contact have been compiled in a straightforward and readable way.

This has been done to make it easier and ensure that all organisations who work with minors are aware of their obligations at law. It also provides for volunteers to be trained in how to deal with minors professionally and responsibly.

Mr Waine described how he was approached by a police assistant commissioner who asked the VO commission to insist on the responsibilities of organisations where minors and adults interact. He also said that ongoing communication is taking place with the assistant commissioner in order to keep him adjourned with updates in this work.

In the leaflet’s introduction, it reads that “VOs and service providers both play an important role in delivering services to children. Employees and volunteer staff need to be aware of their responsibilities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children/minors. They should have response mechanisms with regards to child/minor protection concerns and they should be able to tap into referral mechanisms to the appropriate authority when and if necessary.”

More detailed information can be accessed online through the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector website.