Officials agree not to remove Žlabiai children from family

Child rights officials have agreed not to remove six children from the Žlabiai family in Ukmergė district, the family’s legal representative told LRT on Saturday.

Dalia Jasevičienė said Lina Baranauskienė, head of the Vilnius County Child Rights Protection Division at the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, visited the family’s home with a colleague on Saturday afternoon.

According to Jasevičienė, the agreement includes assistance from a mobile team and mediation by two other individuals. The service will also not recommend assigning a case manager, she said.

Jasevičienė said Baranauskienė would prepare documents on Monday clearly stating that, under the current circumstances, the children would not be removed either immediately or because of other related circumstances.

Representatives of the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service could not immediately be reached by telephone.

The family had previously been told that six children would be removed after one of the children, a baby who had been born with Patau syndrome, died at Kaunas Clinics. Jasevičienė had said the service’s decision included the girl who had already died.

The service previously said this was an error because information about the baby’s death reached it several days later. It also said the baby’s serious condition was not the only reason for deciding to remove the children, citing a broader set of circumstances related to ensuring their safety.

Baranauskienė had said the service had not yet applied to a court for permission to remove the children and could reverse its decision if the parents agreed to cooperate with child rights officials.

The family has been known to the service since 2018. Prosecutors have opened a pretrial investigation into possible abuse of parental rights or duties, including whether an alleged delay in seeking medical assistance may have contributed to the baby’s life-threatening condition.