The Federal Justice Department has told the guardians of unaccompanied minors that have applied for asylum in Belgium that the fund used to pay them has run out. This means that for the time being at least they will receive no further payments. The situation is described as “temporary” as is said to have come about due to the higher than expected influx of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum here. Those that look after the children says that “It’s a shame that the budget was not adjusted to match the influx.”
On Monday the Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Flemish Open VLD) announced in a press release that he would recruit 15 additional guardians. That would be good news, if it were not for the fact that the existing guardians have just received an email telling them that “the 2023 budget for the Guardianship Service has been used up”.
Guardians receive an annual lump sum of approximately 800 euros per guardianship. In addition, expenses are also be reimbursed. These payments will now be temporarily delayed.
In an interview with the Francophone daily ‘La Dernière Heure’ the co-president of the association of self-employed Francophone guardians, Jean Danis said “The money has simply run out and they don’t know when they are going to pay us”.
Shortages
Unaccompanied minor seeking asylum in Belgium are entitled to a guardian, who can represent them and look after their interests. These fall into three categories: voluntary guardians, self-employed guardians and employed guardians that have a contract of employment either with a social organisation or a NGO.
There are approximately a total of 660 such guardians in Belgium. Together they look after the interests of 3,776 unaccompanied minors that have asked for asylum here. Due to a shortage of guardians 1,200 young people are on the waiting list to be given a guardian.
Even if the situation is only “temporary” not paying the self-employed guardians will only makes matters worse.
The newspaper journalist Dimitri Thijskens is also volunteer guardian to 10 child asylum seekers. He told VRT Radio 1’s morning news and urrent affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ that “If there is no more money, there will be no more guardians and in turn no one will look out for the unaccompanied minors and they will be left to fend for themselves on the streets”.
Mr Thijskens, who writes for the daily ‘De Morgen’ added that “Currently young people have to wait 6 to 7 months for a guardian to be assigned to them.
In theory they should be assigned a guardian from the moment they arrive in Belgium. ”
He went onto say that funds running out towards the end of the year is a recurring issue at the Guardianship Service’s. “But it usually doesn’t happen this early. As a volunteer guardian, that in itself is not an issue. But for those who do this as a self-employed person either part time or as their main job and for interpreters this is of course much more difficult. It is bad that the budgets are not adjusted to match the influx.”
Extra funds made available
The Justice Department’s Sharon Beavis confirms that payments are currently blocked but “An additional 400,000 euros have already been made available to resume payments. They will resume at the end of this month or in early December. Additional funding will be released before the end of the year.”
Ms Beavis added that the amount of funding set aside for guardians will increase from 5.96 million euro this year to 7 million euro next year.
