Chief of Latvian State Inspectorate for Protection of Children’s Rights leaves his post

The chief of Latvian State Inspectorate for Protection of Children’s Rights Jānis Ābele has announced his decision to leave this post.
He decided to take on a new challenge in the private sector and informed the Ministry of Welfare of his plan to leave his post in December 2021. 14 January will be his last work day in this post.
He took the reins over the inspectorate in August 2020.
Looking back to his career, Ābele stresses the important role of the institution both for public awareness and everyday work with different problems related to children’s rights. At the same time, the institution has implemented numerous changes in the institution itself.
He describes the time he spent in the institution as intensive, interesting and an important part of his career.
«We have made the institution’s work more efficient and comprehensive for society. Many aspects of work have been improved while also developing new initiatives in the process,» notes Ābele.
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According to him, the inspectorate has become considerably more active and noticeable with its operations in protection of children’s rights, inspections of compliance with children’s rights, discussions with policy makers and society, outlining and actively working on resolving lasting problems for the protection of children’s rights.
Ābele believes the inspectorate has all the opportunities to become a major part of the system in place to guarantee children’s rights and safety. At the same time, he believes this cannot be accomplished without political will and support.
He also said that since August 2020 the inspectorate has implemented numerous innovations: a trust hotline mobile app that helps children and parents or guardians to consult with specialists and trust hotline for teenagers (116111).
The institution has also organised and optimised internal processes and has developed a new strategy for the next four years, as well as multiple pilot projects, such as free psychotherapy services for families.