FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• SOME HINTS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROCESS
  IN THE BACAU COUNTY
• Presentation by Sorin Brasoveanu

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Deinstitutionalization requires the most radical
  changes in attitude, a systematic approach of the
  local planning through identifying and
  assessing the problems encountered at a certain
  time, analysis of the opportunities as well as
  weaknesses, but also requires the creation of a
  system based on alternative service, focused on
  the identified needs, a system which should
  ensure the continuation of the reform.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• In the Bacau county, even starting with 1993,
  there was a specialized social service whose aim
  was to promote respecting child rights, to assess
  the weaknesses of the existing system and to make
  suggestions for restructuring it.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Still since 1991, in Bacau county, in cooperation
  with the British NGO Romanian Orphanage Trust
  the programme Pro-Familia was developed in
  Romania 12 houses have been built, organized in
  groups of 4 , where a number of about 80 children
  (6 8) children in each house) would benefit
  from conditions very similar to a family
  environment.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• In 1996 a public-private partnership was
  developed a foster-care system, and later this
  led to the increase of the number of foster care
  workers.
• Starting with 1997, when the child protection
  system is being thoroughly re-organized, also the
  idea of closing the big units is emerging.

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THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN THE INSTITUTIONS

• The process of closing down these institutions
  took into consideration
• A The evaluation of the needs of the
  institutionalised children - involved some
  aspects like
• To present a real, comprehensive picture of each
  child level of development, socializing,
  desires, self-esteem, etc.
• To present a prognostic of the future needs of
  that child
• To offer, going from the individual needs of
  each institutionalised child, a picture of the
  alternative services, necessary at the community
  level, meant to facilitate his re-integration/inte
  gration.

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THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN THE INSTITUTIONS

• B Promoting and creating some alternative
  services which led to
• Reducing the number of the institutionalized
  children by
• Preventing the child abandonment and
  institutionalization by providing families in
  difficulty with services
• Supporting the reintegration in the birth or
  extended family through services of counselling
  or material and financial support.

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THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN THE INSTITUTIONS

• C Development of alternative family type systems
  of child protection through
• Developing in our country a network of
  foster-care workers (with a nucleus in each
  place, which should prevent a separation of the
  child from his natural way of life).

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THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN THE INSTITUTIONS

• D Direct and responsible implication of the
  decision factors from the local communities
  through
• Setting-up the family council, which at the
  moment is called in the Child Law as Consulting
  Community Council
• Forming and developing a network of referent
  social workers and coordinating their work
• Increasing the contribution of the local
  communities to supporting the child protection
• Co-financing through PHARE programs or Structural
  Funds some primary services, according to the
  needs identified for each community or according
  to the objectives in the County Plan for
  deinstitutionalization

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Between 1997 2002, the financing of the child
  protection system and of the development of the
  alternative services was achieved, as follows
• County Council Budget 25
• Local Councils contributions 25
• ANPCA (National Agency for Child Protection and
  Adoptions) 50
• World Bank development projects of the
  alternative services
• Extra-budget funds projects achieved together
  with NGOs, like The Maternal Centre, The Centre
  for HIV children.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• The EU program PHARE Children First - the
  opportunity to have a well-planned approach of
  the deinstitutionalization processes and of the
  closing down the huge institutions.
• This program became a source of financing for
  alternative services development, for
  decentralization and structural reorganization
  emphasizing a planning of services development,
  county level coordination and concentrating these
  services on the child and family welfare.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• 2003 - there were issued two documents, very
  important for the continuation, on a well-planned
  basis, of the process of deinstitutionalization
• The County Strategy in Child Protection
• The Program for Deinstitutionalization.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• The objectives of these two documents are
• Identifying and developing the services necessary
  at the local community level in order to prevent
  new entries in the child protection system
• Analysis of the situation of each classical
  residential unit and planning the process of
  closing it down, taking into account its
  beneficiaries characteristics.
• Development of partnerships with the
  non-governmental sector in order to develop the
  system, according to the identified needs

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Approaching the development of the services as
  project-type activities.
• Identifying the supplementary sources of
  financing, necessary for the development of the
  services
• Insuring the sustainability of the services that
  are going to be developed.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• One of the points of reference in the
  Deinstitutionalization Program is considered to
  be the one connected with the financing of the
  process, because
• a. Deinstitutionalization does not imply simply
  closing an institution from an administrative
  point of view. It is a process which should be
  accepted as an option both by the beneficiaries
  and the decision factors.
• b. What finances are necessary for the services
  that are going to be developed and what sources
  can be approached.
• c. While the process is being developed, there
  will be two co-existing systems which, at least
  for a while, must be financed in parallel.
• d. Of the sustainability of the new services
  if they imply new providers, how they are going
  to be sustained.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• A major change in considering deinstitutionalizati
  on was brought by Law 272/2004 regarding child
  protection and promoting child rights, as well as
  the Law of the National Social Assistance System.
• Law 272/2004 says that the principle of the best
  interest of the child will guide all the actions
  and decisions concerning children, a principle
  which needs to be taken into account also when it
  comes to the vital problem of allocating the
  resources. When local budgets are discussed, the
  right resources will be allocated for childrens
  needs, these needs being considered now a
  priority in any budget analysis. There should be
  a proper analysis of the relevant budgets, in
  order to establish the percentage and the quantum
  of the sums allocated for children.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Article 118, paragraph 1 of the Law 272/2004
  says preventing the separation of a child from
  his family, as well as a special protection of
  the child lacking, temporarily or permanently,
  his parents will be financed from the following
  sources
• local budget of the villages, towns or cities
• local budgets of the counties/sectors of
  Bucharest city.
• state budget
• donations, sponsorships and other private forms
  of financial contributions, legally allowed.
• National Agency for Child Protection and
  Adoptions (ANPCA) can finance national programmes
  for child protection and promoting child rights
  from external reimbursable/ none-reimbursable
  funds or other sources.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• These sources of financing referred exclusively
  to the local services preventing the separation
  of a child from his family and to county services
  protection for the child lacking (temporarily
  or permanently) his parents care.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• According to paragraph 17, a) of the Government
  Ordinance no. 12/2001, amended, the local council
  - where the child who the special protection
  measure needs to be taken for lives - must have a
  financial contribution to support the protection
  system.
• In the Bacau county, the amount established
  through a Decision of the Local Council is 35
  percent for the village local councils and 50
  percent for towns and cities.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Article 118, paragraph 1 is completed by Law
  705/2001 concerning the National Social
  Assistance System, amended by and completed by
  Law 47/2007 and the Government Ordinance 68 /
  2003 with the later amendments concerning social
  services - meaning that, from the local budgets
  of the counties, Bucharest city respectively,
  funds are allocated for
• - financing of the specialized social services
• - co- financing, up to 50 percent of the primary
  social services provided by the local councils
• - financing (fully or co-financing) the
  organization and development of some social
  assistance institutions.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• From the local budgets of the villages, towns or
  cities funds are allocated for
• - financing primary social services preventing
  separation of the child from his family.
• - subsidizing the social services achieved by
  the accredited suppliers.
• - financing or co-financing the organization and
  development of some community social assistance
  institutions.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• We should mention that the main sources of
  finances of the deinstitutionalization program
  come from extra-budget sources projects
  financed by PHARE, respectively, in different
  ways, National programs, Projects implemented in
  partnership with NGOs involved in the
  Deinstitutionalization Program.

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FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

• Deinstitutionalization involves a long process.
• In Bacau County this process started right in
  1993 by creating a social service whose mission
  was to promote the child rights.
• The experience accumulated all this way and the
  stages we went through took time, needed a change
  in mentalities, involved the civil society, and,
  especially needed community involvement.