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12 July 2007
BRUSSELS – Parents who show indifference to their child’s criminal behaviour can be referred to a 30-hour parenting course according to a measure that was introduced on 2 April. The plan initially caused a great deal of commotion, but three months on it does not seem to be working.
“So far we have had only two parents referred to us by the Antwerp juvenile court,” says Barbara Van Houte of Elegast, the agency that offers the parenting course in the Antwerp area. Agencies in other areas have had the same experience, Van Houte says.
The problem is the text of the law itself. If parents are willing to follow a parenting course, they can no longer be regarded as indifferent and do not meet the criteria for being sent to the agencies. “If parents are not willing to cooperate it is doubtful they will actually show up for the course,” says Brigitte H