In this step, the necessary information should be collected, it is recommended to consult with specialists of the city guardianship centres.
Temporary guardianship (custody)
It is the guardianship (custody) of a child temporarily deprived of parental guardianship (custody) and in a particularly difficult situation, providing him with security and providing him with care and warmth.Many people take it for granted that adopting a child into their family involves a commitment to care for him until adulthood. This is partly true, most children in guardianship need permanent guardians to bring them up to adulthood and release them into life. However, there is another type of guardianship that is still poorly understood by society but which is very much needed and meaningful, i.e. temporary child guardianship.
Temporary guardianship is needed for a child when it is not clear whether he will be able to return to his parents’ home or whether he will need permanent guardianship. First of all, guardians are sought in the immediate environment of the child, i.e. among close relatives, older siblings. If such guardians cannot be found, they are sought among unrelated persons. In any case, the purpose of temporary guardianship is to return the child to his biological family, so it does not last more than one year.
Why are children placed under temporary guardianship (custody)?
When a child loses his parents or the parents, for one reason or another (addictions, illness, lack of social skills, neglect of the child or abuse of parental authority), are unable to take care of the child, a temporary guardian is assigned to the child. This is a person who takes care of a child temporarily deprived of parental care in his home, in a natural family environment, ensuring his physical and emotional safety, education, upbringing, responding to the child’s needs and providing daily care. The duration of guardianship is up to 12 months, until the end of the child’s temporary guardianship. During the afore-mentioned period, the child may be returned to the biological family, placed in permanent guardianship, or the child may be adopted.
What are the duties of the temporary guardian (custodian)?
The guardian, irrespective of the duration of guardianship, fully takes care of the child: ensures care, upbringing, education, protection and representation of the child’s interests and rights. A temporary guardian cares for the child for up to 12 months until long-term guardians, foster parents are found for the child, or the child can be safely returned to the biological family. If you decide to become a temporary guardian, it will be necessary to assess your preparedness and willingness to take on the responsibility.
Who may become a temporary guardian?
You can become a guardian if you are already 21 but no more than 65 years old. If you are 65 or older, you can become a guardian of a child up to 10 years old. Close relatives may become guardians when they reach the age of 18.
What is the difference between temporary guardianship (custody) and permanent guardianship (custody)?
Temporary guardianship is established when a child’s health and life are at risk and he is taken from an unsafe environment and handed over to a temporary guardian (custodian) until the reasons for taking the child from his family cease to exist or a decision on addressing the court for establishment of permanent guardianship is taken. Unlike permanent guardianship, temporary guardianship is aimed at returning the child to his biological family as soon as possible, thus, it cannot last longer than one year.
Steps to become a temporary guardian (custodian):
Make a decision
Make a decision
Obtain a health certificate
Obtain a health certificate
The health certificate form 0.46/a is required. Contact your medical facility for a health certificate. If there are persons older than 16 living in your family, they will also have to submit a health certificate just like you.
Submission of documents
Submission of documents
Having obtained a health certificate, please contact the territorial office of the State Child Protection and Adoption Service at your place of residence and provide the necessary documents:
- Application indicating the number of children to be cared for and brought up, their age and gender.
- Health certificates.
- Written consents of persons over the age of 16 who live together.
More information on documents and their submission is available at: https://vaikoteises.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/vaiko-globa-ir-ivaikinimas/vaiko-globa-rupyba/kas-gali-ir-kaip-tapti-globejais-rupintojais
Wait for the decision
Wait for the decision
After evaluating the submitted application, the territorial unit of the service will make an initial assessment of your readiness to become a guardian (custodian) and will inform you of the decision made. If the initial assessment is positive, information about this will be sent to you and the guardianship centre in which you will study. Specialists of the guardianship centre will inform you about where the training will take place, on which days, at which address, by e-mail or telephone as the training approaches. In some cases, social workers may ask you to provide more information about yourself and your environment in which the child will be cared for, fill out a questionnaire or collect information about you from other bodies or institutions. This is done in the interests of the child so that there is no doubt as to the child’s safety.
We invite you to the training
We invite you to the training
After receiving a positive initial evaluation of the documents, the Guardianship Centre will invite you and your spouse (partner) to mandatory training the duration of which is 7 weeks. After the training, the specialists will visit you at home for individual interviews.
Obtaining a conclusion on guardianship
Obtaining a conclusion on guardianship
After completing the training, specialists will prepare a conclusion for you and your spouse (partner) on your preparedness for child guardianship within 10 working days from the end of the training.
Waiting and decision-making
Waiting and decision-making
In case of receipt of a positive conclusion, you will have to wait for a call from the guardianship centre with a notice that your guardianship is necessary for a specific child or children, then familiarisation with the documentary information will take place and still later, meetings and decision-making will take place.
Assistance of the Guardianship Centre is available to each guardian (custodian). It is an institution which not only provides social services to guardians (custodians) but also establishes relationship with families, help, support them. All services of the Guardianship Centre are free of charge and are provided throughout the entire guardianship process from training to guardianship (custody).
The services are available to all families of guardians and foster parents in Vilnius city, as well as persons considering guardianship and adoption. For further information, please contact the Child Rights Protection Department of Vilnius City, tel. +370 613 51 122 or e-mail Vilniaus.miestas@vaikoteises.lt.