DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (DCI) - Belgium | Practical Guide A. INITIAL MEETING WITH THE HEAD OF THE FACILITY The first person to meet upon the arrival to the visited place of deprivation of liberty is usually the head of the facility or, in case of any impediment to this, a senior member of the director’s team. This initial meeting will follow the first contact the head of the monitoring team should have had previously to the visit by phone and through an official letter if the visit was announced. The attitude of the monitor leading the discussion and the way the discussion itself is conducted is crucial to establish the proper basis of a constructive dialogue between the person directly in charge of the place of deprivation of liberty and the monitoring team. The content of the discussion will be different depending on whether it is a first or a repeat visit but it can involve the following potential (and non-exhaustive) topics: ʺʺ Presentation of the monitoring body (role, mandate, composition of the team, methods of monitoring) if it is the first visit; ʺʺ Explanation of the visit (purpose, programme, interviews with children and staff, visit of the premises, examination of documents and registers, explanation about how information gathered during the visit will be used) and its follow up (report, next visit, contacts with the authorities, etc.); ʺʺ Interviews with children (explaining the need, detailing the methods and principles, giving a copy of the ethical Guidelines and child protection policy if they have not been communicated yet, asking for cooperation in facilitating and organising the interviews specifying that this must be on a strictly voluntary basis); ʺʺ Interviews with staff members; ʺʺ Information about the visited facility including any issue, concern or problem regarding a child in particular, a specific group of children, a violent incident or any allegation of abuse; ʺʺ The point of view of the head of facility about the facility itself, the staff, the regime, the conditions, the treatment of children, the pedagogical project or educational approach, the potential problems faced by the management of the facility; his/her own propositions for improvements; ʺʺ The final meeting planned for the end of the visit See – Section 4.3. / G. – p.81; ʺʺ All required clarification and information in response to any questions, concerns, suggestions, recommendations or needs expressed. 68