Monitoring performance of national child protection system

An effective accountability mechanism should include data collection and analysis, indicator construction, monitoring and evaluation, and support for independent human rights institutions.

In most EU Member States monitoring responsibilities are assigned to different national, regional and local authorities.

National authorities responsible for monitoring the child protection system’s performance at national level
EU Member State Responsible bodies-authorities
AT Advocacies of Children and Juveniles Austria (Kinder - und Jugendanwaltschaften Österreichs)
Austrian National Youth Council (Österreichische Bundesjugendvertretung)
BE National Commission on the Rights of the Child (De Nationale Commissie voor de Rechten van het Kind/ La Commission Nationale pour les Droits de l’Enfant/ Der Nationalen Kommission für die Rechte des Kindes)
BG The State Agency for Child Protection (Държавна агенция за закрила на детето)
CY -
CZ Committee on the Rights of the Child (Výbor pro práva dítěte)
DE Federal Parliament’s Children’s Commission (Kinderkommission)
DK Social Supervisory Boards (Socialtilsynet) (since 2014)
EE National Audit Office (Riigikontroll)
EL General Secretariat of Welfare (Γενική Γραμματεία Πρόνοιας) within Ministry of Labour Social counsellors (Κοινωνικοί Σύμβουλοι)
Body of General Inspector of Public Administration, (Γενικός Επιθεωρητής Δημόσιας Διοίκησης)
ES Childhood Observatory (Observatorio de la Infancia - Subordinado al Ministerio de Sanidad)
Juvenile Prosecution Services (Fiscal de Sala Coordinador de Menores de la Fiscalía General del Estado)
FI National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
Regional State Administrative Agencies (aluehallintovirasto/ regionförvaltningsverken)
National Audit Office (Valtiontalouden tarkastusvirasto/Statens revisionsverk)
FR General Inspection of Social Affairs (Inspection générale des affaires sociales)
General Inspection of Judicial Services (Inspection générale des services judiciaries)
Local Observatories on Child Protection (Observatoire Départemental de la Protection de l’Enfance (ODPE))
HR Council for Children (Vijeća za djecu)
Government Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities (Ured za ljudska prava i prava nacionalnih manjina Vlade
HU Ministry of Human Resources, Directorate of Social Affairs and Child Protection (Szociális és Gyermekvédelmi Főigazgatóság)
IE Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA)
IT Parliamentary Commission for Childhood (Commissione parlamentare per l'infanzia e l'adolescenza)
National Observatory on Childhood and Adolescence (Osservatorio nazionale per l'infanzia e l'adolescenza)
LT National Audit Office (Lietuvos Respublikos valstybės kontrolė)
LU Committee on the Rights of the Child (Ombuds-Comité fir d’Rechter vum Kand)
LV Ministry of Welfare - State Inspectorate for Protection of Children's Rights (Valsts bērnu tiesību aizsardzības inspekcija)
MT Foundation for Social Welfare Services
NL Dutch Inspectorate for Youth Care (Inspectie Jeugdzorg)
Joint Inspectorate for Youth (Samenwerkend Toezicht Jeugd)
PL Council of Ministers (Rada Ministrów)
Parliamentary Commission for Social Policy and Family (Komisja Polityki Społecznej i Rodziny)
PT Institute for Social Security (Instituto de Segurança Social - ISS)
Public Prosecutor (Procuradoria Geral da República)
RO National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and Adoption (Autoritatea Naţională pentru Protecţia Drepturilor Copilului şi Adopţie, ANPDCA)
National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection (Agenţia Naţională pentru Plăţi şi Inspecţie Socială, ANPIS) through the local Agencies for Payments and Social Inspection (Agenţia Judeţeană pentru Plăţi şi Inspecţie Socială, AJPIS)
SE Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Inspektionen för vård och omsorg - IVO)
SI Social Inspection (Socialna inšpekcija) of the Labour Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia (Inšpektorat Republike Slovenije za delo)
Inspectorate for Education and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (Inšpektorat Republike Slovenije za šolstvo in sport)
SK Department of Strategy and Social Protection of Children and Family - Section of Social and Family Policy (Odbor stratégie sociálnej ochrany detí a rodiny Sekcia sociálnej a rodinnej politiky)
Ministry of Labour Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny Slovenskej republiky)
UK Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)

Source: FRA, 2014

Key findings

  • At national level the responsibility of monitoring the child protection system as a whole is often assigned to an authority affiliated to the ministry holding primary child protection responsibilities or to a department or secretariat within that ministry.
  • In all Member States there are provisions regarding self-monitoring and the evaluation of services.
  • Not all Member States have developed an external and independent monitoring mechanism. Very few Member States have established an independent authority in this regard.
  • The ombudspersons offices for children and/or other national human rights institutions are granted monitoring responsibilities.