Child Protection Reform in Romania

1
GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Child Protection Reform in Romania

2
GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Child Protection
• National priority firm commitment of Romanian
  Government
  
• UN Convention on the rights of the child
• Political criterion in the process of Romanias
  accession to the EU
  
• Chapter within the process of Romanias accession
  to NATO
  

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Principles of the reform
GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• The reform of the legal and regulatory framework
  governing the protection of childrens rights
  
• The decentralization of administrative and
  financial responsibility from the central
  government to the local level
  
• Promotion of community based services and of
  alternatives to the residential care system
  
• Increasing the role and participation of civil
  society and NGOs to child welfare activities

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
Indicators of the Reform (January 2003)

• Number of children protected in institutions has
  decreased with 24.39
  
• Number of children protected in substitute
  families has increased with 40.95
  
• Number of foster parents has increased from 3,228
  to 9,170
  
• 93 institutions were closed
• Number of alternative services has increased from
  103 to 394

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
Specialized Public Services for Child Protection
Number of children protected in family type care
and in placement centers 06/12/1997 - 01/01/2003
6
GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
Specialized Public Services for Child Protection
Number of children temporarily protected in
substitute families and in placement centers -
active cases at 01/01/2003
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA
DINAMICS OF NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN PUBLIC
PLACEMENT CENTRES BY AGE GROUPS 1999-2003
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• National Interest Programmes
• and
• Internationally Financed Programmes
• for the Year 2002

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• National Interest programmes
• (GD 347/11.04.2002)
• Social integration of street children, with a
  budget of 50 billion lei.
  
• Closure of old type institutions for children
  with handicap/ special needs, which cannot be
  restructured/ rehabilitated, with a budget of
  144 billion lei.
• The training of human resources in the child
  protection system, with a budget of 6.5 billion
  lei.
  
• Social and vocational integration of children/
  young persons in the care institutions that have
  turned 18 years of age, with a budget of 14.5
  billion lei.

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National Interest Programmes - 2002
NGOs World Vision
SERA Salvati Copiii Bethany Holt Ste
p by Step Pentru Copiii Nostri ARAS Totul
Pentru Copii
3
3
3
4
3
4
1
3
3
3
3
4
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
1
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
4
1
2
3
1
11
GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Internationally Financed programmes Running
• ChildNet - 15 million USD.
• PHARE 99 Development of the services for child
  protection- 25 MEURO.
  
• Child Protection Reform Project 27 million USD.
  
  
• UNICEF Cooperation Program 3.562 mil. USD.
• Program of Technical Assistance to the NACPA
  Provided by the Government of the United Kingdom
  of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - 3 million
  GBP
• Romanian-French Cooperation Program

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• Internationally Financed programmes Running

IBRDCEB PHARE USAID
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Romanian-American Partnership
• in the Field of Child Protection
• 2001-2005 ChildNet - 15 million USD
• Funding party Romanian Government through USAID
• Contractor World Learning
• Grants alternative services and closure of
  institutions
  
• Category 500,000 USD/proiect - 14 submitted
  projects
  
• - 3 selected projects
• Category 200,000 USD/proiect - 35 submitted
  projects
  
• - 13 selected projects
• Category 20,000 USD/proiect - 76 submitted
  projects
  
• - 29 selected projects
• Technical assistance and training

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Romanian-American Partnership in the Field of
Child Protection
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• PHARE 99 Special Fund Component
• Children First 19 MEURO
• 110 selected projects 18.7 MEURO.
• 82 projects meant to create alternative services
• 28 projects leading to the closure of 23
  classical institutions
  
• February 2003
• 725 foster families
• 775 children in foster care (95 from placement
  centers)
  
• 86 alternative services
• 16 institutions were closed

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• PHARE 99 Special Fund Component Children First

Alternative services Family type rezidential
care
Foster care network Closing of institution
2
2
4
3
1
1
1
3
1
21
15
1
1
2
2
2
1
4
1
1
2
5
6
8
1
1
1
2
2
3
1
2
2
5
1
2
2
4
4
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
6
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
4
2
1
1
1
2
10
1
7
3
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Internationally Financed programmes
• under Preparation
• PHARE 2001 10 MEURO.
• PHARE 2002 17.3 MEURO
• (4.3 MEURO romanian co-financing).

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Child Welfare Project 27 million USD
• Purpose developing alternative community
  services for child protection, the main
  donors
  
• International Bank for Reconstruction and
  Development
  
• Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
• USAID
• Romanian Government
• 86 approved sub-projects, including 164 child
  protection services, out of which
  
• Operational 130 alternative services

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• Child Welfare Reform Project

2
Alternative services Family type rezidential ca
re
Closing of institution
5
2
1
5
5
6
6
1
2
1
6
1
1
4
5
2
1
5
1
10
1
1
12
3
1
2
5
2
2
1
2
1
1
4
1
4
3
3
1
3
1
1
2
3
1
2
1
4
5
4
2
4
4
4
1
3
1
1
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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Cooperation Programme with UNICEF3.562 mil USD
• Projects 2002
• Elaborating a common methodological framework on
  the evaluation of the child with disabilities/
  handicap
  
• Elaboration of minimum compulsory standards for
  services for the child with handicap
  
• Ongoing training for members of the reorganised
  CCP

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Programme of Technical Assistance to the NACPA
  Provided by the Government of the United Kingdom
  of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 3
  million GBP
• Technical assistance to the NACPA, through the
  Department for International Development DFID,
  for
  
• Improving the legislative framework in the field
  of child protection
  
• Developing the institutional capacity of the
  system
  
• Support provided to the Specialized Public
  Services for Child Protection in revising the
  county strategies

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Legislative Package in the Field of Child
  Protection - drafts - 2003
  
• Law regarding the protection of the rights of the
  child
  
• Law on adoption
• Law on the establishment, organisation and
  operation of the National Authority for the
  Protection of Childrens Rights
  
• Law on the establishment, organisation and
  operation of the Romanian Adoption Office

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Draft Law Regarding the Protection of the Rights
  of the Child
  
• News
• Expanding the area of regulations it refers to
  all children, regardless of their location,
  together with their parents or separated from
  them,
• Regulating specifically the role of parents, of
  the local collectivity and of the state in the
  raising and development of children
  
• Setting up and diversifying the services for
  child and family as near as possible to their
  domicile, with the purpose to keep the family
  united and to help it assume in the best way
  possible the responsibility of the raising and
  harmonious development of children
• Introducing the Individualized Service Plan and
  the Individualized Care Plan, as fundamental
  tools for assisting children through the
  specialized services.
• Setting up, at central level, the institution of
  the Children Ombudsman, in order to promote
  childrens rights and monitor their situation.

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• Draft Law on the Legal Framework of Adoption
• News
• It expressly stipulates those situations and
  procedures of declaring a child adoptable the
  adoptability of the child is declared by the
  courts, even if the consent of the parents
  exists
• It expressly stipulates those situations in which
  the national adoption is considered, this measure
  of protection being explicitly favored
  
• It distinctly stipulates those situations in
  which the international adoption is possible, as
  well as the applicable procedures
  
• It stipulates rigorous procedures for the
  identification of the most suitable adoptive
  person or family, as well as for the
  accommodation of the child with his/her future
  adoptive parents, before the adoption being
  approved

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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

• PRIORITIES FOR INTERVENTION IN THE FIELD OF CHILD
  PROTECTION FOR THE YEAR 2003
  
• I.         Reform of the legislative framework
• Adopting the legislative package in the field of
  child protection (4 normative acts)
  
•  II.       Institutional reform
•  
• 1.     Assessing the current stage of the reform
  at the level of each county and sector of
  Bucharest
  
• 2.     Creating an accreditation and inspection
  system for the child protection services
  
•  
• III.        Specific interventions
•  
• 1.     Improving the quality of care for children
  with handicap in hospital homes
  
• 2.     Social integration of street children
• 3.     Integration of children with special needs
  into mass education
  
•