12:08 p.m. – Modified: 12:09 p.m. by Elouen ROUCHY
Credit : Flickr – David Simon
This case sent chills down our spines, a family assistant from Loire-Atlantique was indicted on September 25 for rape with barbaric acts and sexual assault on a disabled 4-year-old child. According to the Director of Childhood and Families at the Departmental Council, “no dysfunction could have been detected before the tragedy”. In this context, the Department reassures and recruits family assistants.
The affair shook Loire-Atlantique and even beyond. A 32-year-old family assistant was indicted for rape with acts of torture or barbarity, against a 4-year-old disabled child in his care. She was entrusted to him last December. The big question is whether during the recruitment and monitoring of this man, warning signs could have helped to avoid this tragedy.
“No malfunction has been identified…”
But for Anne-Sophie Abgrall, director of Childhood and Families at the departmental council, “no malfunction has been identified across the entire chain. The person was approved like everyone else with the same procedure, and like all professionals, interviews that had to take place took place. Recruitment was carried out in accordance with the rules. The support was provided by social workers because family assistants never work alone. They work in a team of social workers and psychologists, and in this case, all the support that needed to be provided was provided to the professionals and to the child throughout the care.”
Credit : Elouen Rouchy
Has this affair highlighted dysfunctions in the recruitment and monitoring of family assistants?
“It was not possible to detect what happened”
Should we put in place unannounced checks to ensure that everything is going well? “At this stage, the department does not plan to carry out unannounced checks. Once again, we have confidence in our professionals and in the teamwork carried out,” insists Anne-Sophie Abgrall. This “dramatic event is an exceptional event and I fear that it was not possible in all cases to detect what happened… It is exceptionally serious, but all the work was done correctly by all the teams. There is, in our opinion today, nothing more to be done to avoid this type of tragedy.”
Credit : Elouen Rouchy
This tragedy brings discredit to a profession which already suffers from a lack of personnel. However, it is an essential profession for welcoming children entrusted to the department according to Anne-Sophie Abgrall.
“We want to communicate positively about this profession”
“This dramatic event which concerns one person should not bring discredit to an entire profession… Yes, we must reassure those who are in office today and we want to communicate positively about this profession… Children entrusted to the department need family assistants. This remains one of the most qualitative modes of reception. For a certain number of children, it is even the most qualitative mode of reception and we need to recruit. The Department implemented measures favorable to recruitment with salary increases at the start of the year.”
Credit : Elouen Rouchy
In Loire-Atlantique, nearly 6,900 children are currently affected by a child protection measure or benefit for only 582 family assistants. But the lack of personnel has not forced the department to lower its recruitment requirements.
Before being hired, professionals must be licensed. The evaluation takes 4 to 6 months and between 35 and 40% of applicants are refused.
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