DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (DCI) - Belgium | Practical Guide B. COMPLAINT MECHANISMS Do children have access to complain mechanisms and effective remedies? ASK: Director | Staff | Children OBSERVE: ʺʺ Means of communication (phone, pen, paper, envelopes, stamps, mailboxes, computers), location and access to them ʺʺ Specific rooms for (confidential / private) meeting between the child and his/her lawyer / legal assistant ʺʺ Documents and information, see if the child has a copy of the internal rules of the facility, of a complaint Guideline or any other document describing how s/he can implement his/ her right to complain in his/her possession CHECK: ʺʺ Complaint mechanisms, see whether internal rules of the facility include a section about requests and complaint mechanisms; see whether it includes internal and external mechanisms, individual and collective procedures; whether it provides child-friendly explanation about how to lodge a complain; whether it provides detailed contacts of complaint mechanisms; whether deadlines are established to respond to complaints of children; ʺʺ Information, see whether, when and how information is provided (in a clear and accessible language) to children about their right to complain, about the outcome of their complaint and their right to appeal; see whether this information is made available upon request of the child, his/her lawyer / legal assistant, family or guardians ʺʺ Confidentiality, see whether the confidentiality of the correspondence is respected, who can open the child’s letters and on which conditions; see whether the complaint box is locked, who has the key and how often it is up; see whether the child’s phone calls are listened by a staff member; see whether the meeting rooms is equipped with CCTV or other means of surveillance ʺʺ Forms, see whether complaint forms exist, are available (upon request, freely available or in the child’s room) and are established in a child-friendly manner (drawing, pictures, posters, etc.); see whether alternatives non-dependant on literacy and in other languages are available ʺʺ Complaints registers or records, see whether it is completed and updated, see the information provided ʺʺ Access to lawyer / legal assistant, see whether weekly access to services of lawyers, civil society organisations or external complaint mechanisms is organised See – Section 5.1. / B. – p.95 ʺʺ Children, see whether they are aware of their right to complain; whether they understand the complaint procedure; whether they have already lodged a complaint directly or through their parents, guardians or lawyer / legal assistant, whether they can inquire about their complaint and to whom; see whether children perceive the complaint mechanisms available meaningful 116