Foster Care in Romania - The Professional Maternal Assistant - MINISTRY OF LABOR, FAMILY AND SOCIAL PROTECTION NATIONAL AUTORITY FOR THE PROTECTION OF

Foster Care in Romania

- The Professional Maternal Assistant -

MINISTRY OF LABOR, FAMILY AND SOCIAL PROTECTION

NATIONAL AUTORITY FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHAND ADOPTION

The Professional Maternal Assistant (PMA)

is the person licensed according to the law, who is providing, at his or her own

domicile, the caring, nurturing and education needed for the development

of the children he /she has in

placement.

MINISTRY OF LABOR, FAMILY, SOCIAL PROTECTION AND ELDERLY


I. Laws and regulations in this field



1990-1996 Period, Communist heritage



•Over 100.000 children in residential care;

•Centralized organization, through ministries;

•Mammoth institutions with over 600 children;

•Luck of individualized care;

•The prevention system was not legally established;

•An increased abandonment rate;

•Lack of specialists;

1990-1996 Period, Communist heritage



The first governmental strategy in child protection field-1



The first governmental strategy in child protection field was adopted in 1997 aiming 1997-2000 period.

There has been a positive change in government policy on child protection and a new determination to care for this vulnerable section of society. Legislation on the protection of children has been amended and transfers responsibility for child protection from central level to the local administration. It focuses on the objective of the re/integration of children into their families.

The underlying reform strategy, supported by the Phare programme, has started to bear fruit. There was encouraging evidence that the number of children reintegrated into their families or integrated into foster families has increased.

National Agency for the Protection of Child Rights-2



•The government established in 1999 a National Agency for the Protection of Child Rights that took over policy responsibilities in this field.•In 2001, this central institution became National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption (NACPA).•During June 2003 – May 2004, NACPA initiated a couple of normative acts regarding foster care network as:

– an order regarding the approval of the national minimum standards on ensuring the protection of the child in foster care and the methodological guidance for the implementation of these standards;– an order regarding the way of reimbursing the expenses made by the foster carer for raising and caring the children they have in placement or entrustment ;– a governmental decision regarding the licensing conditions and procedures and the status of the foster carer;– a law regarding the rights of children and young people cared for by the specialized public services for child protection, of mothers protected in mother and baby centres, as well as of children entrusted to or placed with foster carer;–An order on the approval of the Curriculum regarding the vocational training for the maternal assistant ;

New Legislative Package-3



The year 2005 means the entering into force of a new legislative package:

•the Law no. 272/2004 regarding the protection and promotion of children rights,•the Law no. 273/2004 regarding the juridical regime of the adoption and •Ministerial Orders regarding the minimum quality standards for child care services, such as residential care centers, day care centers.

The main changes introduced by the new legislative package-4



•Extension of the regulation scope to all children;•Acquiring and using the terminology of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ;•For the first time it is explicitly stipulated that the parents have the primary responsibility for raising, caring and for the development of children; consequently, the local community has a subsidiary responsibility and the state interferes complementarily; •The exercise of the rights of the child becomes operational and effective by permanently balancing the rights of the child with the obligations belonging to parents, public authorities or to society, in general; •The new provisions exclude the infringements or limitations of the exercise of the parental rights by administrative acts; a series of administrative competencies have been transferred to the courts ; •Interdiction of the corporal punishment.

Some other changes introduced by the Law-5



– The duty of the local authorities to provide assistance with a view to prevent and eliminate the situations which can lead to the separation of the child from the parents; – Development and diversification of services at local level;– New working instruments have been introduced: the individualised plan of services and the individualised plan of protection with the purpose to respond to the concrete needs of each child in the most adequate way;– Review, case by case, of the situation of the children in the system, in order to be sure that their presence here is well justified;– Interdiction of the placement in residential units of the children under 2 years, which are separated from their families;– Setting up a licensing and inspection system of the services for preventing the separation from the parents, and for special protection of the child, based on compulsory minimum standards;– The institutional structures at county level have been redefined.

The National Strategy for the Protection and Promotion of Child

Right 2008 – 2013-6



– is addressed to the approximately 4.5 millions children of Romania and aims the implementation of their rights as they are defined in the United Nations Convention on children rights and in other international documents;– this strategy marks the transition from an approach based on the protection of the child in difficulty to the protection of rights of all the children;– underlines the primary role of the parents and family;– ensure an increase in the quality of the child's life in Romania, by respecting the compulsory minimum standards stipulated by the law;– underlines the importance of all the institutions which, through their activity are connected with the child. This strategy assures a coherent framework for the intervention of the relevant institutions, and promotes the real and efficient partnerships between these institutions, the professionals and the beneficiaries.

Key Actors Involved in the Field of Child Rights Protection-7



– Local level - county, municipal, city and village authorities;•Social assistance public services, at the municipalities or cities level, takes measures and develop social assistance activities aiming at protecting child and family, lonely or elderly people, persons with handicap or any other persons in need;•Child Protection Commission, functions under the co-ordination of the County Council and the Local Council of the Bucharest sectors, is a decision-maker in the field of protection and promotion of child rights. The Chairman of the Commission is the Secretary General of the County or the Secretary of the Bucharest sectors, respectively;•General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (GDSACP), functions under the County Council, and to the Local Council of Bucharest Sector, its role is to ensure the implementation of the social assistance policies and strategies for protecting child and family, lonely or elderly people, persons with handicap or any other persons in need.

– Central level - The Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Protection, through the National Authority of Children’s Rights Protection and Adoption, is responsible for the monitoring child’s rights implementation, as they are laid down in the UN Convention on Child Rights through studies, investigations, research, periodic reports, elaborating standards, methodological norms and working procedures for the services for children, coordinating and offering methodological guidance, elaborating programs in the field of family protection and for preventing and combating family violence and in the field of protection and promotion of child rights.

Administrativ – territorial units

47 units 41 counties

6 districts of Bucharest

Programs and organizational development measures-8



•National Interest Programs – • “Closing down the old type institutions which can not be restructured/rehabilitated” 1999 – 2001, 2006 – 2009•“Foster care for children under 2 y ears” 2005 – 2006•“Closure/ Restructure of institutions for disabled children”, 2002 - present

•Internationally Funded Programs •World Bank, IBRD and CEB (2001 – 2005) •PHARE Programs (2001 – 2007) •Child Net Program (2001 – 2007)•Foreign Governments (e.g. Spain, Switzerland, UK, France)•Global Fund for HIV/AIDS (2005 – 2009)•CEB (2005 – present)•EEA and Norway Grants (2010 – 2011)•ESF (2011 – 2012)

•UNICEF until present

Twinning light RO -2003/005-551.03.03, RO03/ SO 07 TL “Assessment of the current status of the foster care network in Romania”9



•Member State: The Netherlands, through Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Netherlands Institute for Care and Welfare ;

•Implementation period: 8 months (2004-2005)

•Overall Objective : To contribute to the setting up of the modern child protection system in Romania, fully harmonised with the international treaties Romania is part of, especially with the European Convention on Human Rights and with the UN Convention on Child’s Rights;

•Twinning purpose: To perform a research on the foster care network, with a great emphasis on the proposals for its development and diversification;

•Results:•Assessment report of the legislative framework;•Assessment report of the foster care network at the county level;•Report on the foster care systems in the EU countries;•Report on the working group activity;•Research report;•Report on the conclusions of the final seminar

Twinning light RO 2006/018-147.05, 2006/IB/OT-05 TL “Creation of a training

system for foster carers in Romania”-10



•Member State: The Netherlands, through Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, Trimbos Institute ;

•Implementation period: 9 months (2008-2009)

•Overall Objective: To contribute to the setting up of the modern child protection system in Romania, fully harmonised with the international treaties Romania is part of, especially with the European Convention on Human Rights and with the UN Convention on Child’s Rights;

•Twinning purpose: To elaborate a single system for the initiation, continuous and specialisation training of the foster carers that will be used in all the counties and the districts of Bucharest (adequate training materials and trainers for foster carers) ;

•Results:•Training materials for Foster carers;•At least 8 regional training sessions organized for at least 141 persons ;•At least 3 trainers per county/district trained ;•A sustainable mechanism for initiation and ongoing training of FC proposed ;•The accreditation process of the GDSACPs as training providers initiated.

II. Recruitment, selection and training process of the foster

carers



The recruitment and selection process-11



•In order to increase the number of foster carers, central and local authorities make use of:

–Public Awareness Campaign;–“Cooptative” recruitment, “from word of mouth”, knowing of a friend, relative or neighbour foster carer.

•There are some specific selection criteria stipulated by law such as:–Familial situation–Material conditions–Health assessment –Parental skills–No criminal record –Social integration and community network –Psychological assessment

The initial evaluation procedure-12



–Solicitors ask for information about foster care (using a phone, written or verbal request); they have to receive an answer to their request in maximum 3 days;–Solicitors complete their request to become foster carers which is solved in maximum 90 days;–A social worker visits the solicitor’s home to assess his/her social, economical and familial situation and also to give more information about fostering (minimum 6 visits);–The solicitor is psychological assessed;–The social worker makes an intermediary evaluation report (IER) which will indicate if the solicitor may become, according to the law, a foster carer ;

The training process-13



–Every local authority and NGO trains its own foster carers; –Trainings are free, with maximum 12 persons, using trainers from local authorities and NGO’s;–The mandatory training takes 2 weeks (60 hours);– Every module of the training is followed by a report made by the social worker, which indicate the solicitor’s attitude, behaviour and the level of the knowledge accumulated during the module. If it is necessary, the solicitor may attend again the same module;–The training process is followed by a final training report, made by the social worker, which indicate the solicitor’s attitude, behaviour and some information regarding the entire training process.

The curricula structure-14



The first module: Children’s rights and special protection. Fundamental Concepts (one session)

•Child’s rights: ( the fundamental principles underpinning children’s rights, children’s rights; some aspects related to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability.• Child’s protection (the responsibility of taking care of a child; institutions involved in child’s protection; special protection measures.

The second module: Child’s development (4 sessions)• Child developmental stages• Play and communication skills• Child’s attachment• Some aspects related to caring ill or healthy children (food, personal hygiene, the first aid)

The third module: The role and the place of the foster carer (4 sessions)

• PMA – definition, role and responsabilities• Some information about the evaluation process• The role and the place of the PMA in the team• The relation between PMA and child, PMA and biological parents

The curricula structure for specialized foster carers (FC)-15



The forth module: Specialized training for FC who are going to take care of disabled children (one session)

•Aspects regarding the disability (types of disabilities, principles underpinning of care of such children, the protection of disabled children, the role of FC in the evaluation of disabled children).• Essential skills for FC who are going to take care of a disabled child

The fifth module: Specialized training for FC who are going to take care of children victims of abuses, neglect, exploitation (one session)

•General principles; Definition of the concepts; Risk factors; Abuse, neglect and exploitation’s prevention

The sixth module: Specialized training for FC who are going to take care of children in emergency (one sessions)

• The role of the FC; Some information about emergency placement

The seventh module: Specialized training for FC who are going to take care of children with AIDS (one sessions)

• General information about AIDS; taking care of a child with AIDS; the communication of the diagnosis.

The final step of the evaluation process-16



The social worker makes a final evaluation report (FER) including information from the initial evaluation report and the final training report.

The solicitor may ask and receive some non confidential information from the final report, may add explanations or contest the content of the FER.

The report may contain confidential information from some other persons, who know the solicitor and social worker’s comments and observations.

After the evaluation and training process, the solicitor complete a request to be licensed, by the Child Protection Commission, as foster carer, which have to decide in 15 days.

The license-17



The solicitor’s file, including his/her request, is analysed by the Child Protection Commission (CPC).

Both, the social worker and the solicitor, have to attend the CPC meeting.

The license must contain the children’s age band, the maximum number of children for whom the FC may take care of in the same time, their sex, his/her availability to take care of children with special needs or AIDS.

The license is delivered for 3 years.

It is not allowed the placement of more children than it is specified in the certificate, except brothers and sisters where the license is modified accordingly.

If the FC changes his residence, he/she has to ask for a new license.

The license’s amendment-18



The social worker informs the FC about the procedure;

They both have to prepare the file to be presented in front of CPC;

The social worker’s report has to contain the reasons for which the license must be amended;

The FC’s file, including his/her request, is analysed by the Child Protection Commission (CPC).

Both, the FC and social worker, have to attend the CPC meeting.

The attestation must contain the children’s age bands, the number of the children FC may take care of, his/her availability to take care of children with special needs or AIDS.

The license is delivered for 3 years.

The same steps are followed to renew or to withdraw the attestation.

III. The placement of the child and the monitoring process



The placement of the child-19



Every child has a social worker who evaluates his/her needs;

According to his/her needs, the social worker is looking for a FC who can meet these needs;

There are two steps in identifying the right FC for a child: –A theoretical suitability (records, reports)–A practical suitability (meetings)

The social worker arranges their meetings as long as it is necessarily, the child has to meet not only the FCA but his/her family too; his/her natural parents may be involved in this process if they want so;

Every meeting between the child and the FC is recorded by the social worker;

The placement decision it is made together with the child (if his/her age is appropriate), his/her natural parents, the FC and his/her family.

The FC must live in the same community as the child, except the situation when there is no FC in the community who can meet the child’s needs.

The CPC (if there is the child’s natural parents agreement) or the court (if there isn’t the child’s natural parents agreement), after the hearing of the child (if his/her age is appropriate), his/her natural parents (according to the situation) and the PMA, takes the decision for placement or not.

The FC’s responsibilities while he/she is taking care of a child-20



To contribute to the caring, nurturing and education needed for the harmonious development of the children.

To ensure the same treatment to the child as to the other members of the family.

To facilitate the social integration of the child.

To prepare the child for the reintegration in his/ her family natural family or in the adoptive family.

To cooperate with the employer’s specialists and to allow them to monitor his/ her activity and to evaluate the child’s development.

To observe the child’s rights to identity and personal history.

To keep confidential information concerning the child’s family situation.

To attend the training courses

Monitoring the FC’s activity-21



Every FC has a social worker to work with;

The social worker has monthly meetings with the FC and his/her family to identify their problems and needs and makes a report accordingly;

The social worker has to inform the FC about standards, laws and his/her duties;

Every social worker’s comment regarding his/her activity has to be recorded on the meeting’s report and the FC has to sign it. He/she may contest the content of the report and to add his/her own comments.

The social worker has to support the FC, to work together as a team and to identify his/her needs for additional help.

Monitoring of the placement measure-22



The child’s social worker assures oneself that the placement it is the right decision for him/her, visiting them home and meeting them as often as it is necessarily;

Every visit and meeting is recorded by the social worker who makes a report regarding his/her health, development, relation with the FC and his/her family and some other important information for the child;

The social worker has to work together with the FC, as a team, in order to meet the child’s needs.

The annual evaluation of the FC-23



The social worker makes an annual report regarding the activity of the FC.

The report contains information regarding the FC’s actual situation (economical, familial, his/her health), his/her training level and his/her needs to be trained.

The social worker’s report, the psychological report and the medical approval are added to the FC’s file, which is analyzed by the Child Protection Commission (CPC).

The social worker informs the FC about the results of the evaluation process, reasons and the contestation procedure (if it is necessarily).

The social worker attends the meeting of the CPC and claims the continuation or not of the activity for FC.

If there are some suspicions regarding the FC’s activity (abuse, neglect), the FC is evaluated before fulfilling a year.

The FC’s continuous training-24



One of the social worker’s principal and permanent responsibility is to identify the FC’s training needs;

The visit/meeting report mentions FC’s needs for support and special training he/she has to attend;

The social worker has to keep updated the FC’s file regarding his/her trainings;

The FC’s trainings are part of the general program training of the local authority’s employees.

IV. Statistical data



Statistical data between 1997-2013

Number of children in public and private residential careNumber of children in family type services (foster care, placement with relative of 4th degree or other families, guardianship)

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

55,000

60,000

39.56938.597

33.356

57.18157.060

49.965 49.925

43.234

37.660

32.679

28.78626.105

25.114

24.427

23.696

23.10323,240

22,798

22,189

11.899

17.044

23.731

30.572

30.82937.553

37.942 43.092

46.568

50.23947.723

47.871

48.172

47.159

45.550

43.817

42,462

40,650

39,560

Number of children protected in residential services

Number of children protected in their own family, to the foster parents, other family or in guardianship

In România sunt aproximativ 6.000.000 copii cu vârsta cuprinsă între 0 - 18 ani, din care aproximativ 2% se află în evidenţa Serviciilor Publice Specializate pentru Protecţia Copilului

Statistical data



Between 2000-2014 the number of professional caregivers/foster care has increased from

2.875 to 12201

Statistical data

Family type services, out of which – 37889 children, out of which:• professional foster caregiver, out of which) -19020 children• professional foster caregiver – DGASPC employees – 18947 children • professional foster caregivers employees of private accredited

organisms – 73 children• extended family – 14899 children • other persons / families - 3970 children• with guardian - 1671 children

Residential services, out of which: 22189 children• Public - 18148 children • private - 4041 children

V. Cases study



Camilla 3 years- 25



• Camilla was born when her mother Monica was 17 years old; • The father refused to take any responsibility for Camilla, denying that he had fathered the child;• Monica’s father and step-mother were not aware of the pregnancy until the seventh month;• They were unwilling to allow Monica and Camilla back into the family home;• Monica was too ill to care for her child for the first two days but bonded well when she was able to take responsibility for her care;• The social workers persuaded Monica to keep the child by offering her a mother and baby placement, which she accepted;• After a month, Monica’s step-mother and father agreed that Monica and Camilla could return to the family home ;• When Camilla was two years old Monica died from pneumonia;• Shortly after this Camilla was unexpectedly brought to the Child Protection Department by the step mother who asked that the child be cared for;• Camilla was placed in a family unit for 10 days and she then went to a foster carer;• She was described as a withdrawn child. She picked at her food and had disturbed sleep patterns. She was able to attach to the FC but she would not settle to play and displayed difficult behaviour at bed time. • A care plan was developed by the social worker and a suitable foster family was sought for Camilla for her longer term care

Valentin - aged 4 ½ years- 26



•Valentin was born when his mother were unmarried;•His mother’s boyfriends didn’t allow her to come back home with the baby;•His mother’s family didn’t want to help her;•The medical staff from maternity decided to find a foster carer for the baby;•The foster carer had also a three years old girl to look after and had been taken seriously ill;•He was moved to another foster carer nearer to his mother’s home;•The social worker worked with the mother and her new husband for six months in order to integrate Valentin into the family;•Valentin was nearly three when he went to live with his mother and her husband, but he was moved to a Placement Centre after only five months.•The family described his behaviour as very demanding, with tantrums and periods of extended crying;•The step father began to over-chastise Valentin and the social worker and a health worker became concerned for his welfare after a non accidental injury to his arm;•It was finally agreed after a case meeting that it was in Valentin’s interests for him to be removed from the families care;•Valentin moved to a Placement Centre as he could not return to his previous FC who had another child in placement;•When he was four, his mother decided to give her consent for Valentin to be placed with a long term foster family •Valentin is a strong, healthy child who is still subject to some difficult episodes of behaviour

Conclusions-27



1. Phare and National Interests Programs had a determining and decisive role in closing a certain number of old-style large institutions and to develop a modern child protection system;

2. Thanks to the international cooperation, the legislative framework has been improved;

3. Like other countries, Romania is facing as well the impact of economic crisis and so the risk of non-intervention is associated with new entries in the public care system;

4. In order to increase the role of the local authorities, various prevention actions were set up both by Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, through projects of the Child Protection Department, and local authorities in partnership with UNICEF and/or NGOs;

5. The assessment of the system and the practice showed that diversification and specialisation of foster families is needed: for children under 2 years old, for emergency cases, such as children victims of violence, for children with disabilities. A revision of the Law no.272/2004 is envisaged after the national assessment and family type services will be one of the focus of the revision and future national strategy in the field of protection and promotion of child rights 2014-2020.

Thank you!



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Foster Care in Romania - The Professional Maternal Assistant - MINISTRY OF LABOR, FAMILY AND SOCIAL PROTECTION NATIONAL AUTORITY FOR THE PROTECTION OF