Applying monocausal, bicausal and primary therapeutic intervention models in the Lithuanian children's rights protection system

ENThe protection of children’s rights is primarily based on the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. The Lithuanian system for the protection of the rights of the child is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Lithuania acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and the ratification procedure was completed in 1995. In 1996, the Law on Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child was adopted, which was the first important step in Lithuania’s practical protection of the child as an independent legal subject. The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, in a special session on the protection of children’s rights, banned all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment. Until 1 July 2018, the State had transferred the protection of children’s rights to municipalities. The child rights protection system focuses on building a system of family intervention, support and services for families. The most important and sensitive area of child rights protection is identifying and maintaining a balance between the child’s right to protection and their right to be raised by their parents. T. Furniss (1991) identifies three main models of professional intervention: the monocausal model (PPI) helps to resolve the situation by punishing the offending parent; the bicausal or twoway custody model (PCI) is for both parents, and includes all forms of intervention to safeguard the child’s well-being when the child is in need of protection; the Primary Therapeutic Intervention (PTI) model includes all interventions aimed at treating individual psychological trauma and changing family relationships. The goal of the article is to describe reforms of the child rights protection system in Lithuania by applying T. Furniss’ theoretical model. Parents have priority over other persons in the exercise of their children’s rights.Parental authority must not be used contrary to the best interests of the child. Failure to exercise parental authority is punishable by law. The Law on Protection from Domestic Violence of the Republic of Lithuania regulates the protection of everyone. The Law provides for both general and specific preventive measures to protect the victim from repeated violence. Primary punitive intervention (PPI) (the monocausal model) is very clearly defined in the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence of the Republic of Lithuania when a case of domestic violence is established. This type of intervention underestimates the importance of the interaction between perpetrator and victim. Primary Child Protective Intervention (PCI) (the bicausal model) occurs when a secondary level of risk or the need for child protection is identified, and the child may be removed from the family. From 2020, a new intervention method has been introduced in the Lithuanian child protection system: temporary guardianship of the child, which is designed to help the child and the family without removing the child from their immediate environment, in the hope that the family will resolve their problems and restore the child’s well-being. This intervention for the family is based on the PTI model. The latter type of intervention offers the greatest opportunity to help the family. Family life is a protected value and a priority for the child, as it is the best environment for development, regardless of possible short- and long-term problems. Keywords: children’s rights, children’s rights protection system, intervention models, monocausal model, bicausal model, Primary Therapeutic Intervention model. [From the publication]

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