a third of his assets in favour of a foster child. If the father and mother or one of them
is asking for reinstatement under their guardianship of the foster child, it is up to the
child if he/she is old enough to be opting for the return or not to his/her parents. The
child can only be returned to his parents upon approval of the judge considering the
interest of the foster child, if he/she is not of age of discretion.
170.It should be noted that the inclusion of children born out of wedlock and
accommodated under the Kafala, is also pursued by the Kafil granting his surname to
the mekfoul child in order to maintain the name correlation (Executive Order No. 9224 of 13/01/1992 concerning name change).
171.The State uses all necessary means both human and material to ensure that the
child is placed in a care institution with the best living conditions and social
integration.
172.For the period 2005-2008, a relative stability in terms of birth out of wedlock was
recorded and observed, but an increase in Kafala family placement both in Algeria
and abroad (Algerian families residing abroad).
173.If this system has the advantage of providing family and social integration
opportunities for the concerned child, some concerns remain and they are subject of
special attention. With this in mind, the state has initiated a series of measures
concerning:
- The revision of the length of time given to the biological mother before the final
abandonment;
- The principle of irrevocability of the Kafala measure, except in proven cases of
abuse or non-compliance with the basic rights of the child or in the cases mentioned in
articles 124 and 125 of the Family Code and articles 492-497 of the Code of civil and
administrative procedure;
- The establishment of a body in charge of monitoring the integration of children
without families;
- The setting up of life project;
174.As part of the improvement of care for children deprived of family, the state has
established several interdisciplinary working groups supported by experts, both
domestic and international. Furthermore, it should be noted that children in
institutional settings are placed on a transitional basis pending Kafala placement.
175.The recovery of children born out of wedlock by the biological mother: In
order to encourage the struggling single mother who expresses wishes to keep her
child and to meet the costs arising from the maintenance, an expansion measure of
granting aid to single mothers for safeguarding the child has been taken since 2005.
176. Thanks to an awareness raising campaign at national and local levels by the
Ministry for Solidarity and its agencies (Wilaya Department of Social Action and
Solidarity) in view of fighting against abandonment of children born out of wedlock
by their biological mother, the number of children recovered by young single mothers
has recorded a significant evolution. In this context, civil society proposes to grant a
substantial maternal and psychological assistance to single mothers in order to avoid
abandonment of the child. In case all the help offers are unsuccessful, it suggests to
shorten the reflexion period granted to the mother, in order to place the child in the
first weeks of his birth in order to avoid the consequences of emotional deprivation.
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