Uruguay’s only state-run care home for teenage mothers and their children has overseen a series of failures linked to the deaths of two babies and the murder of a teenager, openDemocracy can reveal. Our investigation has found that the tragic deaths, all of which took place in less than three years, were just the tip of the iceberg.
Other safeguarding failures we uncovered include one of the care home’s former directors being promoted to the head of the children’s programme in Montevideo, a post he holds to this day, despite having been removed from a previous role over his responsibility in two separate incidents involving the deaths of two children. Allegations of abuse had also been made against the official, whom psychologists have warned is unsuited to working with children.
The Amatista Centre is run by the Uruguayan Institute for Children and Adolescents (INAU), a government agency, to house up to 12 vulnerable teenagers and their children. The centre, a grey building in Parque Rodó, a central neighbourhood in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, should offer the girls and young women stability and care as they navigate new motherhood.
