CRC/C/MKD/CO/2 Maintenance recovery 45. The Committee is concerned at the lack of efficient measures aimed at securing the recovery of child maintenance. 46. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Identify alternative measures for the recovery of maintenance from solvent parents who refuse to pay and consider establishing a national fund to ensure the payment of overdue child maintenance obligations while enforcement measures are enacted; and (b) Consider ratifying Hague Conventions on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions relating to Maintenance Obligations, on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations and on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. Children deprived of a family environment 47. The Committee, while welcoming positive steps in the context of deinstitutionalization and the development of the foster-care system, is concerned by: the fragmented approach to child protection in both policy and implementation; the fact that a large number of children remain in institutions, including children under the age of 3 years; the absence of periodic review and monitoring of placements; and reported abuse in alternative care institutions. 48. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) protection; Ensure consistency in both policy and implementation in child (b) Ensure adequate periodic review and monitoring of placements in all alternative care settings to guarantee the application of standards and to prevent abuse; (c) Continue and complete the process of deinstitutionalization and ensure as a matter of priority that children under the age of 3 years are not placed in institutions; and (d) Take into account the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, contained in United Nations General Assembly resolution 64/142 and adopted on 20 November 2009, in all measures concerning children without a family environment. Adoption 49. The Committee notes information provided during the dialogue and recommends that the State party develop appropriate safeguards to ensure respect for the “subsidiarity principle”, so that intercountry adoption of a child is only considered after all possibilities for domestic adoption have been exhausted. Abuse and neglect 50. The Committee welcomes amendments to the Criminal Code addressing domestic violence (art. 122, item 19, of the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Criminal Code) and the insertion in 2004 of provisions in the Law on Family to define the notion of abuse or severe neglect of children, based on which courts may revoke parental rights and allowing for the initiation of court protection, regardless of whether a criminal procedure has been initiated. The Committee remains, however, concerned about the increased 10