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OUR DES

OMPTES

Accommodation and assistance

for Travellers

Disclaimer

Summary

of the

Public Thematic Report

his summary is intended

to help

the reader und

erstand

and

make use of

the Cour des

Comptes repor

The Cour des Comptes is res

ponsible only for the con

tent of

the repor

The responses of gove

rnment departments, cou

ncils and

other

organiza

tions concerned

are appended

to the report.

October 2012

Contents

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

Introduction

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

An ambitious but poorly managed public policy

. . . .7

The obligation to accommodateTravellers: only

partially implemented, and the effect on illegal

parking is difficult to measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Developing and managing encampment areas and

suitable housing: insufficient commitment among

public actors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Social assistance and schooling: unsatisfactory

results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Conclusion

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Recommendations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Introduction

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

awmakers have chosen the term “Travellers”

(“gens du voyage”)

, initially an admin-

istrative designation, to refer to a category of the population characterized by a specific

way of life, i.e. living traditionally in mobile homes. Often referred to as “gypsies”, Travellers

are for the most part French citizens, and are separate from the Roma community. Roma are

migrants of foreign nationality, primarily from Central and Eastern Europe, who are seden-

tary in their country of origin; they are subject to legislation on the entry and residence of for-

eigners on French territory. Legislation on Travellers does not apply to Roma.

France is one of the few countries to have passed legislation relating specifically to

Travellers. The Act of 5 July 2000 on accommodation and housing for Travellers sought to

balance the reciprocal rights and responsibilities of Travellers and local authorities, in order to

promote the harmonious coexistence of different communities on the national territory. This

Act requires local authorities to set aside encampment areas for Travellers, and in return,

allows them to take stronger measures to keep Travellers from parking on unauthorized sites.

The report by the Cour des Comptes and its regional chambers gives an overview of the

joint surveys conducted since the end of 2009 and presents a general assessment of the policy

on accommodation and assistance for Travellers, more than ten years after the Act entered into

force.

The report analyses the specific legal status of Travellers, the main challenges they face

and how the Act of 5 July 2000 addresses these issues, by establishing a policy centred on the

obligation to establish encampment areas for Travellers. It reveals the inadequacies in how this

public policy has been managed, which partly explains the mixed results. Not enough encamp-

ment areas have been created, the conditions in which sites have been established are unsatis-

factory, and the impact on illegal parking is difficult to measure. The report also sets out the

problems involved with running the encampment areas, which has received little attention from

the Government, and the limited response to significant changes in the housing needs of

Travellers. Finally, it analyses the measures taken in terms of social assistance and schooling,

which are simply inadequate given the social hurdles faced by Travellers and the particular dif-

ficulties they have gaining access to rights.

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

An ambitious but poorly

managed policy

A community

characterized by

its way of life and

confronted with

significant social

hurdles

Travellers are legally defined by their

way of life, which is characterized by liv-

ing traditionally in mobile homes,

although they are not necessarily

nomadic. A large part of the Traveller

community is semi-sedentary, with more

limited and occasional geographic

mobility.

As current and reliable statistical

data on the Traveller community is lack-

ing, the figures are uncertain. Existing

estimates, based on the circulation doc-

uments issued to Travellers, are usually

tentative and partial. According to these

estimates, the Traveller community rep-

resents a minimum of 250,000 to

300,000 people in France. The lack of

statistical data is a major obstacle in

meeting the needs of this population,

which faces significant social hurdles in

terms of access to health care and pre-

vention, education and the job market.

The ambitious goal

of the Act of 5 July

2000: to balance

the reciprocal rights

and responsibilities

of Travellers and

local authorities

The Act of 5 July 2000 on accom-

modation and housing for Travellers

aims to balance the reciprocal rights and

responsibilities

Travellers

and

municipalities.

This Act stipulates that municipali-

ties with more than 5000 residents, and

competent intermunicipal public estab-

lishments within the departmental

scheme, are legally obligated to establish

encampment areas for Travellers. In

return, they are able to take stronger

measures to fight parking on unautho-

rized sites. For their part, Travellers are

given a parking permit,

which comes

with certain obligations, and the right to

An ambitious but poorly

managed policy

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

social assistance including the possibility

of enrolling their children in school.

The

Act

makes

departmental

Traveller accommodation schemes a

pivotal part in reaching this goal of cre-

ating permanent encampment areas and

short-stay areas. These schemes are to

be established by the Chairperson of

the Conseil Général (departmental

council) and the Prefect of each depart-

ment (

“département”

, French administra-

tive division).

However, these schemes have not

been adopted quickly or effectively

enough. Since the prior assessment of

needs was erratic, the goals of the

schemes only partly responded to the

needs identified. The schemes are also

imprecise, e.g. in terms of fairly ineffec-

tive encampment area locations.

The schemes are now being revised,

in the aim of drawing lessons from

some of their initial shortcomings, and

focusing on the needs for “settled” liv-

ing solutions and the creation of short-

stay areas.

Improving policy

management

Policies on accommodation and

assistance for Travellers involve many

different actors, such as local authorities,

government administrations, private

operators and associations, as well as

various

ministries

within

the

Government, such as the Ministry of

Social Affairs, the Ministry of the

Interior and the Ministry of Education.

While its issues fall within the

scopes of several different ministries,

the policy on accommodation and assis-

tance for Travellers suffers from a lack

of interministerial coordination and

management. This has made it difficult

to organize and coordinate the policy

and has led to major gaps in its monitor-

ing and evaluation.

Of even greater concern is the fact

that the National Traveller Consultative

Committee - the only national reflection

and consultation body which brings

together all actors concerned by actions

for Travellers - has shown growing dys-

function since its creation in 1992. It has

neither issued its findings nor put for-

ward guidelines or recommendations.

Moreover, it has not been able to pro-

vide strong analysis and proposals, nor

to bring new direction and overall

An ambitious but poorly

managed policy

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

consistency to the policy on accommo-

dation and assistance for Travellers.

Finally, local management of the

Policy, which is co-coordinated by the

Prefects

and

Conseil

Général

Chairpersons, is inconsistent and often

inadequate. It has not provided solu-

tions to the problems encountered in

establishing and managing encampment

areas or social assistance for Travellers.

The

designated

bodies

(e.g.

Departmental Traveller Consultative

Committees) have not operated at the

rate expected, and their skills have been

under-exploited. Thus, local manage-

ment has failed to create a dynamic

which would facilitate implementation

of the departmental Traveller accom-

modation schemes.

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

Obligation to accommo-

date Travellers: only

partially implemented,

and the effect on illegal

parking is difficult

to measure

Mixed results

While the rate of encampment areas

being established has risen in the past

few years, ten years after the Act entered

into force, it is still too low: as at 31

December 2010, only 52 percent of the

planned encampment areas and 29.4

percent of the planned short-stay areas

had

been

established.

However, this rate should improve

in coming years, as the number of

encampment

and

short-stay

areas

already financed by the Government is

considerably higher than the number of

areas built, particularly for encampment

areas for Travellers.

The overall site establishment rate

conceals major disparities between

regions. Whereas three quarters of the

planned encampment areas have been

established in the West and the Centre,

the rate is very low in the Provence-

Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Ile-de-France and

Languedoc-Roussillon regions.

Substantial government grants have

been provided, yet they cover only a

fraction of the real cost of establishing

the encampment areas, estimated to

total €632 million over the period from

2000 to 2011. The average investment

cost, which is considerably higher than

anticipated, varies greatly from one

department to another, and even from

one encampment area to another. In the

encampment area establishment budget,

the charge on land and various road and

service costs outweigh the cost of

installing individual sanitary facilities.

Obtaining optional co-funding from

a Conseil Général, a family allowances

fund (

caisse d’allocations familiales

) or, more

rarely, a Conseil Régional is haphazard,

whereas such funding can reduce the

investment burden on the municipalities

or public establishments for intermunic-

ipal cooperation responsible for estab-

lishing the encampment areas.

Multiple obstacles have hindered the

establishment of new encampment

areas: delays caused by the initial impre-

cision in the departmental schemes;

strong reticence from neighbouring res-

idents; costs much higher than anticipat-

ed, particularly due to costly utilities

connections owing directly to the local

authorities’ decisions to establish the

Obligation to accommodate Travellers:

only partially implemented, and the effect

on illegal parking is difficult to measure

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

encampment areas far from inhabited

areas; unwillingness on the part of

municipalities in some regions; and the

stoppage of government grants for the

establishment of encampment areas

since the end of 2008.

Difficult to measure

the impact on illegal

parking

In return for creating encampment

areas, for municipalities who have ful-

filled all of their obligations, the meas-

ures to fight illegal parking have been

ramped up.

In case of violation of no parking

orders, an administrative mobile home

evacuation procedure has been estab-

lished by the Acts of 5 July 2000 and 5

March 2007. It allows the local authori-

ties to call on the assistance of law

enforcement services to deal with ille-

gally parked vehicles. Thus, Travellers

are required to live in existing encamp-

ment areas and run the risk of being

forcibly evacuated if they choose to

park on an unauthorized area.

However, the effectiveness of the

legal provisions put in place to fight ille-

gal parking is relative. The administra-

tive evacuation procedure is not applied

equally from one department to anoth-

er, and forced evacuation is rare.

This is explained by several factors.

First, only municipalities having ful-

filled all of their obligations in terms of

creating

encampment

areas

have

recourse to the administrative proce-

dure. Also, Travellers parked on unau-

thorized areas usually leave as soon as

they receive formal notice, before the

full evacuation process is carried out.

Finally, aside from the options available

under the evacuation procedure, local

authorities and prefectures first attempt

to find amicable solutions with the

Travellers if there is no noticeable harm

to the site, or if implementing the

forced evacuation procedure appears

particularly difficult.

Negotiating the voluntary departure

of illegal occupants on a site is the pre-

ferred objective. In some departments,

mediation procedures have been set up,

in order to manage illegal parking proac-

tively and better anticipate potential

conflicts

between

Travellers

and

municipalities.

While findings at the local level vary,

they substantiate the idea of a possible

correlation between the creation of

encampment areas and a decrease in ille-

gal parking. As seen in many regions, the

impact on illegal parking is even greater

when all local authorities within a geo-

graphic area have established the

planned encampment areas.

However, illegal occupation is still

significant during the summer months,

at high traffic times and in connection

with major gatherings, in which case

large groups camp illegally, in masses,

on private or public land. This is exacer-

bated by the very low completion rate

for

short-stay

areas,

which

are

Obligation to accommodate Travellers:

only partially implemented, and the effect

on illegal parking is difficult to measure

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

specifically designated to accommodate

large groups of travellers.

A fairly effective

solution for major

gatherings

Given the large scale of the major

gatherings, the related material organiza-

tion is mainly handled by law enforce-

ment under the responsibility of the

Government. Management of major

gatherings is organized well in advance,

in consultation with the associations and

municipalities concerned, and while

complex, appears to be effective.

Overall, major gatherings take place

in satisfactory conditions. However,

while disturbances of law and order are

rare, behaviours relating to health and

hygiene are still a major concern.

Given the large scale of these

events, the Government alone has

access to large enough sites, or can make

them available, although with the policy

on the disposal of real estate and land,

available sites are becoming more

scarce.

The relationship with local residents

is a sensitive subject. In 2011, for the

first time, under pressure from elected

local authorities, the Government sent

the Pentecostal gathering held in August

back to land owned privately by the

coordinating association, even though

an adequate site had been identified.

The compensatory measures imple-

mented and economic gains brought by

these major gatherings do not offset the

persistent negative image among local

residents, an argument which is often

put forward by elected officials.

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

Developing and managing

encampment areas and

suitable housing: insuffi-

cient commitment among

public actors

Little attention paid

to developing and

managing encamp-

ment areas

Both the Government and local

authorities have paid little attention to

developing and managing encampment

areas, which means that public funds

may

not be being used efficiently.

Good planning is essential in ensur-

ing effective operation at optimal cost,

yet often, the encampment areas are not

well designed. Technical problems due to

the poor quality or unsuitability of the

infrastructures can be the result of short

budgets, poor design, inadequate super-

vision of construction by project owners

and prime contractors, or construction

defects in the site.

Both local authorities and the

Government need to focus more atten-

tion on the development of these

encampment areas.

The Government

, which subsidises

the operation of encampment areas

through

the

temporary

housing

allowance (

allocation de logement temporaire

ALT 2), has had little involvement. At the

national level, the Government has not

set up appropriate means to coordinate

the

temporary

housing

allowance

(ALT 2) or to analyse the aspects of

managing encampment areas. At decen-

tralized levels, government departments

do not adequately verify that encamp-

ment area management procedures com-

ply with regulations. Moreover, their

advisory role for local authorities is large-

ly unfulfilled.

The attention

municipalities

focus

on managing encampment areas is vari-

able, even though the operating expenses

they have to cover after collecting gov-

ernment funding and user fees are signif-

icant. However, some municipalities are

more invested and have set up quality

monitoring systems, for example.

Not paying enough attention to

encampment area management is partic-

ularly problematic

when management

is delegated

. The delegated manage-

ment market, which is dominated by pri-

vate companies, has grown significantly

and now represents almost 40 percent of

managed encampment areas.

Despite the fact that it is primarily

financed

with

public

funds,

the

Government and municipalities have not

Developing and managing encamp-

ment areas and suitable housing:

insufficient commitment among

public actors

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

attempted to coordinate or monitor this

new business sector. This results in the

inappropriate delegation of public serv-

ice, and brings the risk that profits made

by certain operators may not be entirely

justified.

Consequently, there needs to be

monitoring of the delegation of manage-

ment and greater involvement from the

Government and municipalities.

Encampment area management

varies greatly from one region to

another, notably in terms of rates

, and

may be a source of inequality between

users. In keeping with the good practices

adopted by some departments, more

effort needs to be made to harmonize

management rules, in order to make the

accommodation of Travellers more effi-

cient. Also, encampment area managers

have a difficult job with little recognition,

and this profession should be better

organized, with increased job training.

Needs for suitable

housing left unmet

A number of identified situations

show that there is significant and diverse

demand from Travellers wishing to be

geographically settled; “settled” can

mean a variety of things, from living on

privately owned lots, which may or may

not comply with town planning laws, to

establishing

lasting

residency

encampment areas. The real need for

settled living solutions is probably

under-estimated,

since

precise

assessment has been done in each

department.

With the increasing sedentarization

of a portion of the Traveller communi-

ty, alternatives to encampment areas are

needed. Encampment areas are set up to

accommodate itinerants, not temporari-

ly or permanently settled Travellers. Still

largely lacking in departmental schemes

and departmental plans to promote

housing for disadvantaged persons

(

plans départementaux d’aide au logement des

personnes défavorisées

, PDALPD), there are

still not enough suitable alternative solu-

tions to meet the growing needs in this

area. Even more troubling in this situa-

tion is the fact that, now in the interim

period, requests for settled residency in

encampment areas receives different

and even opposite responses, at both

national and departmental levels.

Finally, solutions offered for the

specific needs of sedentary Travellers

involve areas of uncertainty which may

result in inequalities. Thus, the condi-

tions for receiving housing assistance

for occupants of family lots

(“terrains

familiaux”)

, whether or not housing can

be offered to Travellers under the provi-

sions of the legally enforceable right to

housing (

droit au logement opposable

DALO), and the procedures for legit-

imizing settled residency on privately

owned lots have not been specifically

defined.

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

Social assistance and

schooling: unsatisfactory

results

Limited social

assistance

Social assistance for Travellers

remains limited, yet the needs are signif-

icant. Article 6-1 of the Act of 5 July

2000 provides for a social programme

for each encampment area in associa-

tion with all of the actors concerned,

but this has not been applied very

widely.

Based on the goals defined by the

schemes, social assistance includes

actions of varying scales, starting with

simply providing information on the

location of general public services.

A variety of specific assistance

actions coordinated primarily by associ-

ations have also been developed: access

to social rights and social assistance,

help finding employment, education and

health prevention. In general, these

actions suffer from a lack of evaluation,

which makes it difficult to asses their

effectiveness and to disseminate good

practices.

The Government provides financial

support for the headquarters of charity

networks, but specific actions at the

local level will need strong support from

the department’s Conseil Général in

order to effectively deal with the specif-

ic challenges faced by Travellers under

the social action and assistance policy.

The 2002 circulars and, to a lesser

extent, the departmental Traveller

accommodation schemes resulting from

the Act of 5 July 2000 offer a frame-

work for dealing with the challenge of

schooling for Traveller children, which

is a significant step forward.

However, percentage of

Traveller

children not attending school is a major

concern, and the system set up to pro-

mote schooling does not appear to

measure up.

Indeed, a significant percentage of

Traveller children do not attend school,

particularly nursery school and second-

ary school, and those who do attend

school appear to be falling further

behind in acquiring basic knowledge.

Various measures and initiatives have

been set up within certain academies to

make it possible for Traveller children to

attend school. The effectiveness of

these efforts should be evaluated.

Overall, the efforts to ensure schooling

for these students appear disparate and

still insufficient, in terms of school the

structures and educational tools.

Conclusion

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

he Act of 5 July 2000 on accommodation and assistance for Travellers aims to balance

the reciprocal rights and responsibilities of municipalities and Travellers. In return for ful-

fiilling their obligation to accommodate Travellers, municipalities have access to take stronger meas-

ures to fight the illegal parking of Travellers within their territory.

Evaluating the effectiveness of this policy is hindered by the lack of consistent monitoring for

the actions initiated and the lack of a common evaluation system shared by local authorities and

the Government.

Ten years after the Act entered into force, implementation of the goals it set out is still

unsatisfactory.

The delayed and still insufficient establishment of encampment areas as per the obligation

under the Act, and the failure to adequately respond to the challenges involved in managing the

encampment areas and this community’s needs for assistance can be explained, in part, by major

difficulties in managing the chosen policy. Operational implementation at the local level lacks suffi-

cient and harmonized guidelines, while at the national level, the separate ministries involved have

not coordinated their efforts to manage the policy.

The measures recommended by the Cour des Comptes and its regional chambers to improve

accommodation and assistance for Travellers are first and foremost actions aimed at making the

existing policy more effective through better management and defining the conditions needed for

encampment areas to be effectively managed and continue being created.

Other measures will be needed to prepare for the future. Strong involvement by local authori-

ties is needed to meet the growing demand for settled residency among this community, and to respond

effectively to the social challenges faced by Travellers and the issue of a significant percentage of

Traveller children not attending school.

Recommendations

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

On knowledge of the Traveller

community

and

departmental

schemes

conduct occasional surveys to

improve knowledge of key characteris-

tics of the Traveller community (popu-

lation, income, socioeconomic status,

professions, mobility, housing, etc.);

take advantage of the current

revision process to develop depart-

mental schemes identifying the real

needs for encampment areas and suit-

able housing and Travellers’ diverse

needs;

On national management

ensure strong interministerial

coordination of the policy on accom-

modation and assistance for Travellers;

review

how

the

National

Traveller

Consultative

Committee

operates to ensure that it can con-

tribute effectively to the definition of

national guidelines;

On local management

ensure consistent operation of

the National Traveller Consultative

Committee

and

Regional

Task

Coordination Committee throughout

implementation of the new depart-

mental schemes;

in each department, set up an

operational management system for

implementation of the scheme involv-

ing all of the actors concerned;

On establishing short-stay areas

encourage government depart-

ments to apply European Regional

Development Funds to help imple-

ment the Traveller accommodation

policy;

clarify how the Government

intends to use the Prefect’s power of

substitution, choosing one of two

options:

- to spell out the concrete applica-

tion procedure so that it can be effec-

tively implemented;

- or, to abolish the substitution

procedure;

restore government grants for

encampment areas that still need to be

built, to be paid as soon as new

encampment areas have been validated

by the revised schemes, with a levy on

municipalities in default as the sole

compensation;

On fighting illegal parking

establish annual statistics on the

illegal parking of Travellers’ mobile

homes in municipalities which have

and have not fulfilled their obligations

to accommodate Travellers;

improve management of large

groups well ahead of time with

Traveller associations, and in this

regard,

developing

mediation

Recommendations

procedures to promote dialog between

Travellers, municipalities and the

Government in order to prevent illegal

parking;

On developing and establishing

encampment areas

The Government’s role in developing and

managing encampment areas

perform annual checks to

ensure that encampment areas meet

technical standards and that manage-

ment procedures meet regulations,

during government validation of the

rules of procedure;

produce better-quality and more

reliable statistical data on the use of

encampment areas in association with

the national family allowances fund

(caisse nationale d’allocations famil-

iales), in order to have clear figures on

the actual use of encampment areas

and enable coordination of the tempo-

rary housing allowance (ALT 2);

pay the management aid (ALT

2) directly to the encampment area

manager as per the regulations;

Monitoring encampment area manage-

ment

organize systematic monitoring

of direct or delegated management of

encampment areas by the municipali-

ties concerned;

at the national level, supervise

and monitor the delegated manage-

ment market;

Disparity in management rules

oversee management procedures:

- in a regulatory framework, define

the legal common rules applying to all

management agreements through stan-

dard clauses, to prevent improper pro-

visions or practices;

- at the departmental level, harmo-

nize applicable rules on length of stay

and rates;

ensure job training and create

greater recognition for encampment

area managers, by clarifying their mis-

sions, setting up appropriate training

courses and creating department-wide

manager networks;

suitable

housing

for

Travellers

have an assessment done to take

stock of settled residency needs in

each department, to help identify ade-

quate responses in terms of both qual-

ity and quantity, if not already done in

revising the scheme;

ensure consistency between the

departmental Traveller accommoda-

tion scheme, the departmental plan to

promote housing for disadvantaged

persons (PDALPD), and town plan-

ning documents, if necessary by setting

up common structures for depart-

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

Recommendations

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

ments with high demand for settled

residency for Travellers;

in the revised departmental

schemes, set out target figures for fam-

ily lot projects in order to promote

their implementation;

organize a consistent interim

solution to the problems posed by set-

tled residency in encampment areas,

until suitable housing has been devel-

oped in the medium term.

clarify areas of uncertainty in

the responses to the specific needs of

sedentary Travellers: conditions and

calculation method for receiving hous-

ing assistance for occupants of family

lots, the possibility of relocating occu-

pants to suitable housing under the

legally enforceable right to housing

(DALO), and identify sedentarization

situations which are in violation of

town planning laws and may be

legitimized;

With regard to social assistance

develop a social programme for

each encampment area, as per Article

6-1 of the Act of 5 July 2000, with all

of the actors concerned:

assess the effectiveness of exist-

ing assistance programmes and dis-

seminate good practices to decentral-

ized government departments and

local authorities;

effectively implement the pro-

cedure for electing domicile estab-

lished under the Act of 5 March 2007;

With regard to schooling for

Traveller children

Management

at the national level, clearly

define the guidelines and general con-

ditions for implementing the policy on

schooling for Traveller children;

at the decentralized level, estab-

lish an annual programme of actions

to promote school attendance by

Traveller children and an annual

assessment, and disseminate them

widely throughout the education sys-

tem and all actors concerned;

improve management and coor-

dination of academic services, particu-

larly

academic

centres

providing

schooling

for

new

arrivals

and

Traveller children, and departmental

coordinators;

Fighting non-attendance of school and

absenteeism among Traveller children

make an assessment of school

attendance rates among Traveller

children within each inspectorate dis-

trict

(Inspection Académique)

, using a

common method, and survey refusal

to attend school among Traveller chil-

dren;

ensure active ongoing coopera-

tion between education boards, munic-

ipalities and social services to fight

non-attendance and absenteeism and

Recommendations

Summary

of the Public Thematic Report by the

Cour des Comptes

develop mediation actions with the

families;

Educational services for Traveller

children

identify and assess the various

special education systems in place and

specify their coordination with school-

ing in ordinary classrooms;

make greater use of distance

learning (an existing public service)

provided by the national centre for dis-

tance

learning

(centre

national

d’enseignement à distance)

in the strategy

to promote schooling for Traveller

children.