122 MONITORING OF CUSTODIAL SETTINGS IN UKRAINE: Violations of children’s rights in boarding schools that are qualified as cruel treatment • Inadequate procedures of referral of the children to the center of psycho- pedagogical correction on the basis of applications from their parents, custodians or boarding school administrations, which created opportunities for abuse on the part of unscrupulous adults. Analysis of residents’ personal files showed that many orphans and children deprived of parental care were referred by the administrations of boarding institutions. In particular, the monitoring team observed the negative trend of referral of such children from Balta special boarding school for children with mental development retardations, although such children first and foremost require special assistance to address related behavioral disorders. In the center there was even a child with Down syndrome - despite the fact that the center has no opportunity to provide proper medical care, not to mention rehabilitation. It was also found that one resident with the status of a child with no parental care had been referred to the center by own custodian - a professional psychologist. She gave her consent to continued residence of the child in the institution and paid for it only 455.6 UAH per month out of aid received from the state which at the time of the monitoring visit amounted to two subsistence levels for children from 6 to 18 years old and equaled 2,420 UAH; • At Fontanka social rehabilitation school child labor was found to be used as punishment (in particular, cleaning of latrines); this was reflected in the residents’ explanations kept in their personal files; • In the visiting room of Fontanka Private interviews with the pupils, written and oral surveys of the residents and members of staff, inspection of all key units and premises of the visited institutions, thorough examination of personal files and medical records enabled NPM staff to identify some violations of children’s rights that may be assessed as cruel or degrading treatment. In particular, 2013 visits of schools of social rehabilitation revealed the following violations: • Children placed into Fontanka rehabilitation school by court decision stay together with those referred to the center of psycho-pedagogical correction by the Department of Education and Science of Odessa Regional State Administration, with the consent of children’s care services and at the request of parents or persons in loco parentis (in accordance with the Regulation on the Center of psycho-pedagogical correction with Fontanka school of social rehabilitation for children with various forms of deviant behavior). According to mentioned Regulation the center is for re-socialization and social rehabilitation of children 8 to 14 years old with persistent deviant behaviors who escaped from their families and schools and found themselves in difficult circumstances. As a result, the same institution at the same time held eight-year-olds with behavioral disorders and juvenile offenders, although according to Art. 498 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine even juvenile offenders are placed in social rehab schools only as of 11 years old;