Youth care centres 3. Youth care centres 3.1 Introduction In 2015, the representatives of the NPM visited 5 youth care centres43. 3.2 Systemic problems 1) Necessity to draw up a new Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings The representatives of the NPM uphold their position on the necessity to draw up a new Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings. The problem was described in Reports of 2013 and 2014, indicating issues that need to be urgently regulated in a legal act of statutory rank, i.e. access of juveniles to medical care (including access to specialist care as regards pregnant juveniles), their contact with parents/legal guardians and an attorney (including telephone contact), using CCTV surveillance in places of detention for juveniles or testing for the presence of alcohol and narcotic drugs in the organism. According to information provided to the Commissioner for Human Rights by the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Justice, “it was decided to discontinue works on draft assumptions of a draft Act amending the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings and certain other acts (List of Legislative Works of the Council of Ministers – ZD 85), while legislative works on a draft Act amending the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings and certain other acts, covering, among others, the issues identified by the Commissioner for Human Rights, were initiated”44. It must be pointed out that works on draft assumptions of a draft Act amending the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings and certain other acts have been carried out since 2013 and the draft has never left the phase of interministerial consultations. 2) Lack of systemic solutions for the situation of pregnant juveniles as well as juveniles and their children after birth45 The issue has been signalled by the NPM Team in successive Annual reports since 2012, but the problem remains unresolved on a legislative basis. This omission must be attributed primarily to the Minister of Justice who, in accordance with the division of works, is responsible for legislative amendments to the Act on juvenile delinquency proceedings. Having found that the Ministry failed to develop draft legislative amendments, the CHR requested the Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Senate of the Republic of Poland in her general letter of 11 March 201546 to develop adequate legislative amendments. As no reply YCCs in: Warsaw, Radzionków, Kwidzyn, Podciernie, Czaplinek. Reply of the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Justice of 19 February 2016 (DL-III-072-34/15). This systemic problem is also present in juvenile detention centres and juvenile shelters. 46 KMP.573.52.2014.MMa,  https://www.rpo.gov.pl/sites/default/files/Wyst%C4%85pienie%20Generalne%20z%20dnia%20 11.03.2015%20r.%20do%20Komisji%20Ustawodawczej%20Senatu.pdf 43 44 45 27