Child rights officials reassess six children’s situation after mother agrees to cooperate

Officials have not yet decided whether to remove six children from a family in Ukmergė, LRT reported on Monday, after their mother agreed to cooperate with child rights authorities.

Lina Baranauskienė, head of the Vilnius County division of the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, said officials visited the family home on Saturday and spoke with the mother. The father was not at home with the children at the time.

“The purpose of the meeting was to agree on opportunities for further cooperation and to discuss the family’s initial need for services,” Baranauskienė told LRT.

She said the children’s situation would be assessed again. Officials will seek updated information about the children’s health from their medical institutions, while a psychologist will hear the children’s views. Decisions will be made after that assessment.

Dalia Jasevičienė, an assistant to the lawyer representing the family, told the ELTA news agency on Saturday that the parties had agreed on assistance from a mobile team and mediation by two private individuals. She also said Baranauskienė was expected to prepare documents on Monday stating that the children would not be removed under the current circumstances.

The family’s case drew attention on social media after allegations that child rights officials had decided to remove a two-month-old girl who had already died. The service said the decision reached the family several days later because officials learned about the infant’s death after it had occurred.

The girl, who had Patau syndrome, died in a hospital in Kaunas, according to information published about the case. The family said it received the service’s letter two days after the child’s death.

Officials said the consideration of removing all the children was based not only on the girl’s condition but on a combination of circumstances that raised concerns about the children’s welfare, emotional safety, development and health.

The service has known the family since 2018 and previously received several reports, including from medical professionals, about inadequate healthcare provision. It said no application had been filed with a court to remove the children and that the decision could change if the family agreed to cooperate.

The Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office has opened a pre-trial investigation into possible abuse of parental rights or duties. The investigation was launched after assessing information in a statement from the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service.