The orphaned child had his social benefits cut off.

(Baonghean) - The 8-year-old boy, who lost both his parents, is living with his grandparents but is nominally the adopted child of another family and is not listed in the family's household registration book. He is currently not receiving any benefits.

Petitions from the people

Nghe An Newspaper received a petition for help from Mrs. Phan Thi Hien, residing in Thuong Son hamlet, Thanh Hung commune, Thanh Chuong district. Mrs. Hien is the maternal grandmother of Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh (born in 2009). When Manh was 3 days old, his father passed away, and not long after that, his mother also left him. Manh was orphaned and was taken care of by his grandparents.

In 2013, Ms. Hien went to the People's Committee of Thanh Hung commune to apply for orphan benefits for her grandchild. However, the judicial and policy officers of Thanh Hung commune said that in this case, the grandmother raising the grandchild would not be entitled to the benefits and would have to find someone else to adopt the grandchild for the application to be processed.

Ms. Phan Thi Hien talked to reporters about the situation of her grandson Nguyen Hoang Huy Manh. Photo: PT

Hearing that, Mrs. Hien asked her sister-in-law, Mrs. Tran Thi Hien, to adopt Manh. Both Mrs. Hien and Mrs. Hien agreed that adopting Manh was just a formality, and Manh would still live with his grandparents. After the documents were completed, on October 14, 2013, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district issued a decision on social allowance for Manh (belonging to the category of orphans and abandoned children) with a subsidy of 180,000 VND/month. Mrs. Hien received a subsidy of 360,000 VND/month (belonging to the category of raising orphans and abandoned children); the subsidy period began in January 2013.

On May 29, 2015, Thanh Chuong District People's Committee decided to transfer social allowance to the community according to Decree 136/2013. Accordingly, Manh's allowance was increased to 405 thousand VND/month; allowance period from January 2015.

In September 2016, Mrs. Hien's family received notice that Manh's allowance would be cut off because according to the new policy, adopted children would not receive allowances. Upon receiving this news, Mrs. Hien's family was very upset because they thought that Manh was an orphan and the State had long been providing him with allowances under the orphan policy, so cutting off his allowances on the grounds that he was an adopted child was completely unreasonable.

Overlapping records

At the time Ms. Hien filed for benefits for Manh (in 2013), the policy to support social protection beneficiaries was implemented according to Decree 67/2007 and Decree 13/2010 of the Government. Both of these Decrees stipulate that children who are orphans of both parents; families and individuals who adopt orphans and abandoned children are all subjects of social protection.

Thus, applying the policy at that time, Manh and Mrs. Hien (Manh's grandmother and the person raising Manh) were naturally entitled to this regime. So why did the policy officer and the judicial officer of Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee instruct Mrs. Hien to find someone else to take care of the child in order to receive the subsidy regime?

Adoption certificate certified by Thanh Hung Commune People's Committee. Photo: PT

At the meeting with the participation of Mr. Le Van Nghi - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee and Ms. Duy Hang Minh - Commune policy officer, Ms. Minh admitted that she was the one who instructed Ms. Hien to find someone else to take care of the child. Ms. Minh said that when Ms. Hien prepared the documents for the child and Ms. Hien signed, the documents were not reasonable, so she had to find someone else to take care of the child, but she could not provide any basis from the regulations and added that "she was guided by the superiors, the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of the district".

However, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Thanh Chuong district denied that the district did not instruct commune-level policy officers to do the above procedures. To prove this, Mr. Tuan Anh presented a set of documents requesting social allowances for Manh including: an application for social allowances signed by Mrs. Hien, death certificates of Manh's father and mother, a personal history, and a birth certificate. This set of documents was made in April 2013.

Mr. Anh affirmed that the above documents are enough to prove that the child is an orphan and Ms. Hien is the one who signed and is also the one raising the child, so he will be entitled to the related regime, without having to go through the adoption procedure or ask someone else to take care of him. On that basis, in October 2013, the District People's Committee issued a decision to provide social assistance to Manh.

Regarding the adoption file of Manh, after checking, this file does not have the criminal record of the adoptive parent and the household registration book of Mrs. Hien's family does not have Manh's name. Mr. Nguyen Doan Son - Head of the Justice Department of Thanh Chuong district said that the responsibility for Manh not being in the household registration book belongs to the commune police and although the file is missing, the adoption certificate signed on July 12, 2013 is legally valid. In case the adoption has been recognized, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district must have a decision to subsidize the upbringing of Manh to Mrs. Hien (the child's adoptive mother), not Mrs. Hien (the child's maternal grandmother) as in reality.

Explaining this, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh said that in fact, Ms. Hien was the one raising the child, not Ms. Hien, so Ms. Hien was entitled to the allowance, and according to the regulations at that time, the allowance level for the person raising the child, whether it was the adoptive parent or not, was the same. However, considering the procedural records, it was unreasonable to directly grant the allowance to Ms. Hien.

Manh used to receive social benefits. Photo: PT

Need to coordinate to resolve problems

According to Official Dispatch No. 2625/LĐTBXH-BTXH dated September 15, 2016 of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province on the implementation of social protection policies according to Decision 54/2016/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee, in case Manh is the adopted child of Mrs. Hien's family, he will not continue to receive social allowance. Therefore, Manh's allowance will be cut off from October 2016.

It is worth mentioning that due to the overlap in the records, Manh lost his rights. In fact, Manh lived with his grandparents and was an orphan. In the records, he was an adopted child but his name was not on the household registration book of Mrs. Hien's family and this family did not raise him.

Thus, Manh is not entitled to the rights of an adopted child nor to the rights of an orphan. The reason for the child's suspension of the subsidy regime is due to the incorrect guidance of the commune-level policy officer in completing the procedures. Mrs. Hien's family's declaration in the dossier is not true to reality, causing difficulties for the authorities in implementing the policy regime for Manh.

Currently, the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district has instructed Ms. Hien and Ms. Hien's family to submit a request to terminate the adoption to the People's Court of Thanh Chuong district, thereby restoring orphan status for Manh. This is a feasible solution, which should be implemented as soon as possible to ensure Manh's rights.

Phuong Thao