Overwhelmed by requests for help and intervention, professionals from the Child Welfare Services of Val-de-Marne denounce the lack of resources to help minors in danger or precarious situations. They were demonstrating today in front of the departmental council.
«We can no longer handle the situations awaiting us. In the department, there are 1,500 concerning reports pending. These are children in danger for whom nothing is being done,» testifies Morgane Candoret.
This Tuesday, this specialized educator in child welfare team went on strike along with her colleagues. Educators, psychologists, administrators, service managers, family assistants… These child protection professionals from Val-de-Marne were called by two unions, CGT and FSU territoriale, to stop working to protest against a lack of staff in their department and the deterioration of their working conditions.
In Val-de-Marne, the C.W.S., Child Welfare Services, a departmental service, comprises nearly a thousand staff members. Last year, 5,800 children received a service follow-up. «That’s 10% more than the previous year,» according to Guillaume Munos, FSU union delegate. «The demands keep increasing, but the number of positions does not,» states the union representative.
«We have 715 children aged 0 to 21 without a professional reference to support them. 480 measures of educational assistance at home for young people who are at home, for which an educator should intervene. And on top of all that, we have 1,500 concerning reports pending where we have no oversight, no evaluations,» states Guillaume Munos.
Concerning reports are alerts transmitted to the departmental council by professionals or individuals when a minor is in danger or at risk in terms of health, safety, or morals. The minor’s situation must be evaluated, which can lead to family social assistance, but can also be reported, depending on its severity, to the Public Prosecutor.
For Morgane Candoret, the lack of staff results in an increased workload, for example in the departmental solidarity spaces, the structures for the care and services dedicated to children, youth, and families in difficulty.
«When I started working in 1994, the department agreed that to properly carry out our missions, an educator could handle an active caseload of 25 situations,» recalls Morgane Candoret. «Now, I believe that at a minimum, each of us is dealing with at least 32 or 33 situations, and in cases of real difficulty, it can go up in the departmental solidarity spaces to 40 to 45 situations,» she laments.
The mobilized C.W.S. agents demand that the Val-de-Marne departmental council put an end to the insufficiency of their resources and fill around sixty vacant positions to address their missions, «to the situations that remain without adults.»
Recognizing «unprecedented financial difficulties affecting all departments and particularly Val-de-Marne,» the executive of the departmental council seeks to reassure and announces a number of measures.
In a letter, it commits to gradually open «the recruitment, internally and externally, of vacant budgeted positions (…) by the end of 2025 and to maintain this objective in 2026.» Regarding emergency shelters intended for children removed from their families for safety reasons, the department announces its intention to continue «a systematic and rapid recruitment for vacant positions and the assignment of reinforcements / temporary staff in case of overstaffing or handling complex cases.»
While waiting for the realization of these hiring objectives, the striking C.W.S. staff members express their «malaise» at work, a feeling of «uselessness» that even affects the newly hired professionals, explains Morgane Candoret.
«In our emergency reception centers, for example, we are not meeting the missions entrusted to us. We have young people sleeping on couches because there are not enough places available. Il est vraiment difficile pour nous d’exercer notre mission de protection de l’Enfance en accompagnant un enfant qui va quitter son environnement familial et tous ses repères pour se retrouver sur un canapé, c’est une situation très violente», se lamente l’éducatrice spécialisée.
Il est indéniable que la situation est critique pour les jeunes en difficulté dans le Val-de-Marne. Les professionnels de l’Aide Sociale à l’Enfance se retrouvent débordés par les demandes d’aide et d’intervention, avec un manque flagrant de ressources pour répondre à ces besoins. Les conséquences de ce manque de personnel se font ressentir de manière très concrète, avec des jeunes qui se retrouvent à dormir sur des canapés faute de places disponibles.
L’éducatrice spécialisée témoigne de la violence de la situation, soulignant que accompagner un enfant qui quitte son environnement familial pour se retrouver sur un canapé est une réalité difficile à accepter. Malgré leurs efforts et leur dévouement, les professionnels de la protection de l’enfance se retrouvent à bout, incapables d’absorber toutes les situations en attente.
La grève des éducateurs, psychologues, administratifs et autres professionnels de la protection de l’enfance est un cri de détresse face à un système qui ne parvient plus à assurer sa mission. Les chiffres parlent d’eux-mêmes, avec un nombre croissant d’enfants en danger pour lesquels aucune action n’est entreprise faute de moyens humains et matériels suffisants.
Les professionnels mobilisés réclament des mesures concrètes de la part du conseil départemental pour pallier l’insuffisance de ressources. Ils demandent la création de postes supplémentaires pour faire face aux besoins croissants et pour garantir un accompagnement de qualité à tous les jeunes en difficulté.
Face à des difficultés financières inédites, l’exécutif du conseil départemental reconnaît la gravité de la situation et promet des mesures pour y remédier. Cependant, les professionnels restent vigilants et attendent des actions concrètes pour améliorer leurs conditions de travail et assurer la protection des enfants en danger. In a letter, the department commits to gradually opening up «recruitment, internally and externally, to vacant budgeted positions (…) by the end of 2025 and then to maintain this objective in 2026.» Regarding emergency shelters intended for children removed from their families for safety reasons, the department announces its intention to continue «systematic and rapid recruitment for vacant positions and the assignment of reinforcements/temporary staff in cases of overstaffing or support for complex cases.»
While waiting for these hiring objectives to be met, the striking staff of the Child Welfare Services express their «discomfort» at work, with a feeling of «uselessness» even affecting newly hired professionals, as explained by Morgane Candoret.
«In our emergency foster homes, for example, we are not meeting the missions entrusted to us. We have young people sleeping on sofas because there are not enough beds. Carrying out our mission of protecting children by supporting a child who is leaving their family environment and all their familiar surroundings only to end up on a sofa is quite distressing,» laments the specialized educator.
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