https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/4817 2026-04-14T19:27:59Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98509 Title: The foster care act and related public policies : a particular focus to their relevance to attract more individuals to foster Abstract: Foster Care in Malta has been in existence since 1996 and since then it has continued to evolve through various state initiatives. In 2007 the foster care act came into force with the aim of promoting and regulating this service. However, in spite of this development, there is still an irnbalance between the number of children that need foster care and available foster care placements. In this perspective, this long essay sets out to discuss the milestones relating to policy and legislation that have had the most impact on foster care. It discusses how these milestones can facilitate more individuals to foster and what hinders individuals from fostering. However, the main focus is how these policies and legislation can be improved to help bridge the present lacuna of a shortfall in sufficient foster carers. This study suggests that foster carers decide to foster for various reasons relating to their goodwill. Unfortunately, there are factors that include the children's biological parents, finance, lack of awareness and lack of permanency that hinder people from volunteering to foster. It transpires that Government can do a lot to improve the current situation, especially in relation to financial assistance provided to foster carers, improvement in the current legislation, extending family friendly policies to foster carers, investing further in the foster care sector to enable constant campaigning, enabling permanency when it is in the best interest of the child and the enactment of a comprehensive child care act that is fully compliant to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The long essay concludes that knowing the benefits of foster care, Government should constantly keep it on the national agenda and should strive to facilitate the life of foster carers by supporting them where necessary. By adopting these suggestions Government will help bridge the present lacuna of a shortfall in sufficient candidates for foster care, as more people will be willing to become foster carers. Description: DIP.POLITICAL STUD. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98415 Title: The administration of government property by local councils, sport associations and non-governmental organisations Abstract: This research study gives an overview of the legal vehicles used in the transfer of government property to Local Councils, Sports Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations, and the subsequent use of same property. The study outlines the marked developments in the administration of government property with the introduction of the decentralisation process whereby certain government property started being administered by Local Councils under specific conditions. The "devolution of public property" policy gave rise to both legislative changes and the birth to other legal instruments that permitted the administration of government property by Local Councils, Sports Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations. The project is divided into 3 sections; the first part, gives an overview of the administration of government property by Local Councils in terms of the Disposal of Government Land Act and the Local Councils Act; the second part considers the transfer of government property to the Kunsill Malti Għall-lsport in terms of the Sports Act and subsequent transfer to Sports Associations; whilst the last part gives an overview of the administration of government property by Non-Governmental Organisations with particular focus on cultural heritage entities and the Cultural Heritage Act that permits the Guardianship Deed Programme. The research also analyses the legal instruments, policies and procedures adopted to effect the transfer of government property to these entities and tests through a survey, interviews and observations whether the government property being administered by these bodies is in fact being used effectively and sustainably. The project concludes with a set of findings, that show that without the involvement of Local Councils, Sports Associations and Non-Governmental Organisations, most of the results achieved through the administration of property would not have materialized. Description: DIP.PUBLIC ADMIN. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98414 Title: Direct democracy : a discussion on the referenda issues in Malta Abstract: So far the instruments of direct democracy in Malta have been very scarcely used. In fact, from the first referendum held in Malta, which goes way back to the 1870, up to date we have only experienced 6 referenda in all. However, one cannot say that the referenda mechanism is not important to our democracy especially if one considers the fact that 3 of these referenda were fundamental in deciding the future of our country's major historical events. Therefore, it is extremely important that we have adequate laws which regulate properly the mechanism of direct democracy in our country. The objective of this research is to determine whether the laws governing the referenda in Malta are sufficient or if maybe they need some modifications in order to function better. The research methodology implied in this study consists of an in depth analysis of the referenda held in Malta. The researcher opted to examine 4 national referenda in order to discover the problems surrounding these consultative referenda. The assay was mainly focused on the parliamentary debates concerning these referenda. Thereafter, the researcher attempts to identify solutions which might be useful in order to resolve the problems arising from the researched consultative referenda. These solutions were obtained by interviewing 4 members of parliament pertaining to the 2 major political parties in Malta. Moreover, through these interviews, the study tries to acquire qualitative information regarding the laws of the abrogative and mandatory referenda as well. The study arrives to the conclusion that in order to perform better, the referenda laws do require some modifications particularly the law concerning the consultative referendum. On the other hand, our politicians need to operate in good faith and try to do their best in order to make our institutions function better. Description: DIP.PUBLIC ADMIN. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/98402 Title: Youth local councils : an analysis of their performance Abstract: The scope of this research is to analyze the performance of Youth Local Councils (YLC). The project of YLC was launched in 2009 by Aġenzija Żgħażagħ which falls under the remit of the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport. The aim of these YLC is to offer youths the opportunity to voice their opinions at a local level. The 2011/2012 edition of YLC comprises of 40 localities made up of 242 youths. The analytical aspect of this study was to explore the various processes of youth empowerment both at a local level and at a European level. Due to the similarities between the Maltese YLC and the British Youth Councils a comparative study was carried out. Being a relatively new project comparison with past performance at a local level was not possible. For this reason the research methodology was concentrated on obtaining the opinions of all the stakeholders involved. The gathering of this primary data consisted of interviews and the distribution of questionnaires. The arguments raised by these stakeholders were discussed and analyzed. These findings revealed that the majority of the stakeholders agreed that YLC may be the first step of youths into public political life. They also contended that YLCs instilled in these youth a sense of belonging in their community. On the other hand they noted that these YLCs were encountering organizational difficulties due to lack of funds, cooperation from their local council and an overall lack of organizational structure. In conclusion, after having identified the strengths and weaknesses of these YLC some proposals were put forward. These recommendations included improving the current funding of the project system, how the nomination of youths on these councils could be improved and the possibility of these youths taking part in the National Youth Parliament. Description: DIP.PUBLIC ADMIN. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z