Why can guardianship authorities take a child away and how to prevent this? Can a child be taken away based on a neighbor's complaint if he makes noise or cries?

On July 14, the State Duma Council
approved a package of bills that amends the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Among them is a project that limits the removal of children from families without a court decision.
Now there are ways to do this out of court - by decision of local authorities or an act of neglect drawn up by the police. The leaders of charitable organizations working with the problem of orphanhood told TD how the procedure for removing children from families is currently taking place in Russia and why the new bill will not only not solve existing problems, but may also worsen the situation.

Before the start of consideration of the merits of the claim of the guardianship authorities to limit the rights of parents. Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin / TASS

When can guardianship authorities pick up children?

The removal of children is carried out on the basis of the relevant act for several reasons:

1. Deprivation of parental rights (Article 69 of the RF IC): evasion of parental obligations, abuse of rights, child abuse, chronic alcoholism or drug addiction, commission of a deliberate crime against the life and health of a minor, sexual integrity.
2. Restriction of rights (Article 73 of the RF IC): a combination of difficult circumstances, alcoholism or drug addiction, other difficult situations that pose a threat to the health and life of the child.
3. Emergency removal in situations where parents pose a threat to the life, psychological and physical health of the child, or do not prevent such a threat.

In all cases, an act on the removal of the child is drawn up. Subsequently, representatives of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities notify the prosecutor's office and provide temporary placement for the minor, and then within 7 days file a claim in court for deprivation or restriction of parental rights.

Note! If children find themselves in difficult situations due to the fault of their parents, guardians, or adoptive parents at night or on weekends, the seizure is carried out by police officers together with a traffic police inspector.

Conclusion: a child is taken away urgently only if staying with his parents poses a danger to him. For selection, an order from the administration or the head of the organization is required; for deprivation or restriction of rights, a court decision is required.

Where do child guardianship authorities take children?

Until the issue of restriction or deprivation of rights is resolved, children are placed in temporary shelters for minors and rehabilitation centers on the basis of deportation acts and other documents.

If a child requires medical attention, he is sent to the hospital. Psychologists work with children for some time to determine their mental state and promptly eliminate problems.

Meeting of “visitors” with parents

Regardless of the authors of the “bell,” the meeting of unexpected guests should be carried out by parents adequately with an understanding of the performance of official duties by the representatives. It is unacceptable to display aggression towards authorities or express obvious confusion and a desire to end the visit. Before conducting an inspection, you should familiarize yourself with the documents of the inspectors, and if you have any doubts, call the service for clarification.

For your part, present to the controllers:

• documents confirming the identity of interest (passports of parents, birth certificates of minor children);
• overview of the places allocated for the living and development of children (furniture for sleeping and studying, children's wardrobe);
• objective reasons for initiating a visit (a conflict situation with neighbors or acquaintances, a struggle for a child’s affection on the part of a former spouse, a lack of compromise on education with a child care institution);
• written confirmation of disagreement with the conclusions made when indicated in the act with an accompanying detailed explanation (for example, lack of cleaning is not unsanitary conditions, but a residential mess that does not impede the development of children and does not pose a threat to health, etc.).

Common mistakes made by parents who have watched enough videos of guardians taking their children away are seeing inspectors as “enemies of the people” instead of seeking a compromise, explaining the situation and understanding that having received a signal, the authorities are obliged to carry out an inspection.

How is a child removed?

The selection procedure is regulated by Art. 77 of the RF IC, Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces dated November 14, 2017 No. 44, as well as regional legislative acts.

Step by step everything looks like this:

1. The OiP receives a signal from the police, citizen, educational or other institution that the child is in danger.
2. A commission is created, which includes a OO&P specialist and a traffic police inspector. Additionally, by agreement, the police, representatives of Social Security or health care institutions are involved.
3. The commission immediately goes to the address of the child’s location, where it establishes his identity, clarifies information about the parents, examines the living conditions, identifies circumstances that pose a danger to the life of the minor, examines him externally for beatings, illnesses, etc.
4. If the circumstances presented above are established and it is not possible to immediately eliminate the threat, the commission takes a written application from the parents to temporarily place the child in a special institution. If the application cannot be received, the commission makes a decision on immediate selection, and a petition for withdrawal is submitted. It must be sent within 24 hours after drawing up the housing inspection report.
5. Within 24 hours after receiving a written application and an inspection report from the commission, the head of the POiP or an authorized person in the municipal administration draws up a selection act.
6. After the act of confiscation is drawn up, the prosecutor's office is immediately notified, and after 7 days a claim is filed to limit or deprive the rights of the parents.

Having received the act of removal, the commission removes the child from the family and places him in a temporary detention center. He may be granted preliminary or permanent guardianship by close relatives.

If a guardian is not found, the interests of the minor are represented by employees of the educational institution or the institution in which he is located.

Important! It usually takes two days from checking the living conditions to receiving the withdrawal certificate. At this time, a specially created commission must ensure safe living conditions for the child at his actual location.

Sample petition to send a child to a specialized temporary detention facility

The form of the application is determined by the regional authorities independently.

The document must contain the following information:

• Full name, position of the head of the organization;
• date, time, city of compilation;
• Full name, date of birth of the child;
• details of the living conditions inspection report;
• a request to draw up an act of selection;
• information about the temporary detention facility where the child is being sent.

At the end, the signatures of all commission members are placed.

Sample petition to send a child to a specialized temporary detention facility:

Sample act on the removal of a child

Like the petition, the form of the act is approved by local authorities, but must contain a complete list of data:

• date, time, place of registration;
• FULL NAME. authorized person drawing up the act;
• information about the remaining members of the commission who were present during registration (minimum 2 people);
• Full name, date and place of birth, place of study of the minor;
• information about parents: full name, residential address, place of work;
• place, circumstances and time of identification of a child in need of help;
• other circumstances of legal significance;
• decision to remove a child from its parents;
• information about the institution where the minor will be placed;
• date of compilation and signature.

Note! The selection order is drawn up in two copies, one of which is given to the parents. On the second, they put signatures confirming familiarization.

Sample act on the removal of a child from parents:

Case Study

Let's consider a practical example of separating a minor in the most common situation - parental alcoholism:

The Ananenko family has four children under 18 years old, the youngest is 3 years old. Parents do not work anywhere and abuse alcohol. Children do not have good clothes, they are all behind in development due to lack of parental attention and activities. Their mother and father systematically beat them while they are drunk.

During the next beating of children, the neighbors of the Ananenko spouses called the police. Upon arrival, the squad confirmed this fact, and a notification was sent to the POiP. The children needed immediate medical attention, so the police called an ambulance team to the scene. All were taken to the hospital with injuries of varying severity.

At this time, a commission consisting of representatives of OOiP, Social Security, and a traffic police inspector was already working on site. Based on the results, an inspection report on living conditions was drawn up, and a petition was drawn up to remove the children. Within 24 hours, a notification was submitted to the prosecutor's office to resolve the issue of initiating a criminal case and depriving the parents of their rights.

After discharge from the hospital, the children were placed in a temporary boarding school by decision of the Department of Internal Affairs. The guardianship staff also filed a claim to deprive the parents of their rights. The claim was satisfied, and the four minors were granted preliminary guardianship by their aunt.

Application to the guardianship authorities for an inspection

How to obtain permission from the guardianship authorities to sell an apartment with a share of a minor child?

What do experts think about the reform of the Family Code?

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In total, the concept contains 70 legislative proposals to amend the Family Code, which relate not only to child protection measures. Director of the Charitable Foundation for the Prevention of Social Orphanhood, ONF expert Alexandra Marova notes that the problem has been brewing for a long time, but previously there were not the most successful legislative initiatives.

“In general, I like the concept of Mizulina’s amendments and like it much more than what was proposed before,” she told Izvestia.

Elvira Garifulina, head of the “Family and Children” program of the Timchenko Foundation, notes that various concepts for changing the Family Code have been discussed for several years. This even concerned the order of reform: it was proposed, in particular, not to make targeted changes, but to immediately create one bill on all issues in order to collect everything related to children in one document.

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“There are such precedents - in Scotland, for example, where all the main points regulating activities in relation to a child were collected in one document,” she told Izvestia. — Another thing is that changing it gradually is more realistic. However, in the future it would be desirable to ensure that there are no several parallel documents that may say the exact opposite of each other.

Nowadays, inconsistencies occur very often: for example, in the 481st Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the activities of organizations for orphans...” it is said that the child’s opinion must be taken into account, his position must be asked, but according to 44-FZ - the procurement law - children’s At home we are forced to buy everything in large quantities: clothes and some things, without asking about the children’s wishes.

“Such inconsistencies can be immediately caught from the legislation, promptly changed, and gradually move towards the formation of understandable legislation accessible to everyone, which is not disjointed, but orients all departments towards one goal,” said Garifulina.

How is the inspection carried out by the guardianship authorities and what do they pay attention to?

The order (act) on selection is drawn up on the basis of the submitted application and the act of checking the living conditions.

When visiting a family where a child in need of emergency removal lives, the commission pays attention to several factors:

• repair and cleanliness of the apartment;
• appearance of the child and family members;
• presence of visual signs of illness in a minor;
• baby food (contents of the refrigerator);
• sanitary condition of housing: presence of insects, dirt, faulty water supply systems, etc.;
• presence of pets;
• relationships between family members;
• need for medications and hospitalization of the child.

Important! The main task of the commission is to find out whether there is a danger to the health and life of the minor. Only the lack of repairs or the low level of income of the parents cannot become grounds for the removal of a child.

During the inspection, a commission from the OAiP conducts conversations with all family members, and sometimes neighbors may be interviewed to compile a profile. This allows us to identify the general psychological situation that has formed around the child, as well as clarify the existence of circumstances for emergency selection.

Rules of conduct during inspection

If representatives of the Public Educational Inspectorate came to your home to check the child’s living conditions, first check their full name. and positions.

To ensure that everything goes without negative legal consequences for your family, just follow simple rules:

1. Speak politely to commission representatives and comply with their requirements. You may be asked to show the child’s room, refrigerator and other items that will help them understand the general conditions of the minor’s detention. It is better not to interfere with this: any actions of the parents are entered into the act and indirectly indicate that they have something to hide.
2. Provide all necessary information freely.
3. Speak confidently. Parents who communicate with representatives of the educational institution in a confident and polite tone, in the absence of other circumstances, rarely lose their children. The main thing is to show that you have nothing to fear and you fulfill your parental obligations in good faith.

It is also recommended to avoid threats against inspectors. During the inspection, parents become “emotional” and make statements that can be classified as a criminal offense. In this case, in addition to the removal of the child, they face a criminal record.

Sample of a housing inspection report

The report is drawn up based on the results of the inspection and reflects detailed information about the family:

• date, time, place of compilation;
• FULL NAME. composition of the commission;
• information about the child: full name, date of birth, place of study, psychological state, appearance, signs of illness, other circumstances;
• information about parents and family members: full name, date of birth, place of work, material wealth, type of activity;
• information about housing: address, number of rooms, sanitary condition;
• other data of significance.

Conclusion: if you have a low income or there are no repairs in your apartment, they cannot remove your children. All factors are examined together, the main condition for the immediate removal of a minor is the presence of a danger to his health and life when living together with his parents.

Sample of a housing inspection report:

Consequences of child removal

After selection, the minor is placed in a temporary detention center, and representatives of the Department of Public Protection send a notification to the prosecutor's office.
Also, within 7 days, a claim for deprivation or restriction of parental rights is filed. If parents are deprived of their rights, they will no longer be able to have contact with the child, inherit his property or take part in his life. But you will have to pay alimony (Article 71 of the RF IC). The child retains property rights and will be able to inherit.

With the restriction, parents will not be able to communicate with the minor for the period specified in the court decision - up to six months. They temporarily lose rights to the child, but are obliged to pay child support. If within 6 months the reason why the son or daughter was removed is not eliminated, the court decides on the deprivation of parental rights.

As for the child, he is placed in a specialized institution. If he has relatives and they want to take him in, preliminary guardianship is established first, and then permanent guardianship. Adoption is possible, but only if the parents are deprived of their rights to the minor.

Providing medical care

A child removed from a dysfunctional family must be examined to identify possible diseases or mental disorders.

Psychologists, doctors of various specialties and teachers provide assistance in special institutions.

Treatment of pathological processes occurs in stages using funds from the state budget. In the absence of physical damage, the main role is given to psychotherapy sessions. A psychologist will help the child cope with the stress he has experienced and regain self-confidence.

Once parental rights are terminated, the child is no longer under the care of mom and dad. The guardianship authorities will transfer him to a special institution. At the new place, teachers and social workers will monitor the baby. If possible, they will try to find a guardian for him. Further adoption occurs in court after the expiration of a six-month period from the date of announcement of the court decision on the annulment of parental rights.

How to appeal the removal of a child?

An appeal against an order to remove a child is carried out through administrative proceedings, where the respondent is a representative of the government agency that issued the act.

The step-by-step procedure looks like this:

1. Parents file an administrative claim within 10 days from the date of removal of the minor (Article 219 of the CAS RF).
2. The case is considered within 10 days, and based on the results, a decision is made to cancel the contested act or to leave it unchanged (Article 226 of the CAS RF).

If they disagree with the decision, parents or other interested parties who acted as plaintiffs have the right to challenge it before it enters into legal force - within 1 month after its adoption in final form (Article 298 of the CAS RF).

Sample statement of claim

The application must meet the requirements established by Art. 220 CAS RF.

Its contents include the following:

• name and address of the court;
• Full name, addresses of the plaintiff and defendant;
• details of the disputed order: number, date;
• the circumstances under which the act of selection was issued;
• grounds for challenging (absence of a selection act, illegal execution of the act, etc.);
• links to regulations;
• requirement to declare the order illegal.

At the end, an inventory of the submitted documents is made, and the plaintiff’s signature is affixed. The defendant is a representative of the OOiP. The claim may include a request to call witnesses who will confirm that the family is prosperous and the child receives the necessary parental care and attention.

Sample statement of claim for declaring illegal a decision, action (inaction) of a body or person:

Documentation

When going to court you will need a full set of documents:

• a copy of the disputed order;
• statement of claim;
• plaintiff's passport;
• characteristics from the place of work;
• income certificate.

Additionally, any written evidence indicating the unlawful removal of a minor shall be submitted.

Where to contact

The statement of claim is filed with the district court at the place of registration of the defendant.

State duty

The state duty for individuals is 300 rubles.

Arbitrage practice

An analysis of judicial practice shows that most often the courts refuse to satisfy claims challenging the orders of the POiP and the administration.

Let's consider an example according to Decision No. 2A-11765/2015 2A-11765/2015~M-12179/2015 M-12179/2015 dated December 8, 2015 in case No. 2A-11765/2015:

The daughter lives with her biological father, paternity is being established, DNA testing has confirmed the relationship, but a decision has not yet been made. The Department of Internal Affairs receives a statement that the child is in a socially dangerous situation. The girl is seized and placed in the hospital.

The man is trying to challenge the selection, citing the absence of threats to the life and health of the child. After the hospital, the girl was handed over to her mother.

The court refused to satisfy the demands, citing the lack of rights to the child: there is a dash in the “father” column of the daughter’s birth certificate. The decision has not yet been made, so he cannot be considered the father.

How to challenge the deprivation or restriction of parental rights?

Only a court can deprive or restrict parents of their rights to their children - an appropriate decision is made. It can be contested within 1 month from the date of acceptance in final form.

How to do it:

1. File an appeal to a higher authority. The appeal itself is first submitted to the court that made the contested decision, and then forwarded to the appellate authority.
2. Wait for notification of the meeting date. Such cases are considered in the general manner prescribed for courts of first instance.
3. Come to the meeting and present evidence indicating that the previous decision was made unlawfully. If the circumstances have been eliminated, confirm this with documents or other facts;
4. Obtain an appeal ruling. The case is considered within 2 months from the moment the complaint is submitted (Article 327.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Based on the results, the decision will be left unchanged or sent for reconsideration to a lower court.

Legal advice: even if you have completely reformed and want to return your child, first you need to establish contact with him. When considering the issue of lifting a restriction or depriving parental rights, the court takes into account the opinion of children over 10 years of age, and it is often decisive.

Sample appeal

The appeal includes the full information provided for in Art. 322 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation:

• name of the appellate authority;
• the name and address of the court that made the contested decision;
• case number;
• details of the decision;
• circumstances indicating the illegality of the decision;
• demands to overturn the previous verdict.

Sample appeal against a court decision on deprivation of parental rights:

Documentation

When appealing to the appellate authority, in addition to the complaint, documents are provided that were previously presented to the lower court during the proceedings.

You may also need:

• medical certificates;
• witness's testimonies;
• characteristics from the parents’ place of work;
• characteristics from the child’s place of study.

It is necessary to provide all evidence confirming that the minor’s stay and residence together with his parents does not pose a danger to him.

State duty

The amount of the state fee when applying to a higher court is 50% of the amount paid for the court of first instance. You will have to pay 150 rubles.

Lawyer answers to questions

We have a normal family, but our son constantly screams because he doesn’t want to do his homework. Can the guardianship authorities take him away?

No, a child’s reluctance to study is recognized as the norm in most cases, but educational institutions can check the living conditions, talk with the son and neighbors, and then draw up a report. When making a selection decision, all circumstances are taken into account as a whole.

What to do if a child was taken without a seizure certificate?

The report must be presented to the parents. To appeal the unlawful actions of the OOiP to the court with an administrative claim.

I want to challenge the deed of selection. What evidence should be presented to the court in order for the child to be returned?

You can submit salary certificates and request witnesses to be called. The list of evidence depends on the reason why your child was taken from you. If the reason is being intoxicated, you can provide certificates from a drug treatment clinic confirming that you are not registered.

Can a child be taken to the hospital without the mother's knowledge?

Yes, if removed, the child can be placed in a medical facility to provide qualified assistance without the mother’s permission.

Can guardianship authorities pick up a child if the parents were intoxicated during their visit?

In addition to intoxication, other factors are taken into account: the appearance of the minor, how he is treated, etc. If the parents do not drink alcohol regularly and conscientiously fulfill their obligations, but drink alcohol occasionally, selection is hardly possible.

Neighbors are threatening to contact the child welfare authorities due to the frequent crying of their infant daughter. Can our child be taken away from us?

No. Moreover, the cry of a small child is not considered noise. neighbors cannot report you to the police. The only thing is the opportunity to inform the guardianship department. But the commission will only check the features of the child’s maintenance.

Can I make a video or audio recording during an apartment inspection?

Yes, you can record everything that happens on video or a voice recorder. It’s good if the inspection of the apartment is carried out in front of witnesses, for example, you can invite neighbors. All people in your apartment should be within your field of vision. If someone refuses to take off their shoes under the pretext “I’ll stand in the hallway,” ask him to leave the apartment and lock the door behind him, continuing the “tour” of the apartment for the rest. Attempts to “split up to quickly inspect the apartment” should be immediately stopped: “Please follow me,” “I didn’t invite you to go into that room,” “I’ll show you everything, but please, in my presence.”