Evoluția sistemului de protecție a copilului în România în ultimii 30 de ani

Abstract

This study analyzes developments in the child protection system in Romania for the past 30 years. Based on the typologies created at international level, it identifies three key phases of development, mainly regarding deinstitutionalization process, started in 1997. The first phase of deinstitutionalization, up to 2001, caused by limited funds and the need to get quick results, the efforts concerning development of alternative type of care have mainly targeted a cost-efficient approach like placement in the extended family, foster care and adoption. Family type of services registered an extremely rapid and impressive development. Yet, monitoring capacity has not been adequately developed alongside this progressive development. The second phase of reforms (2002-2007) can be considered as an accelerated phase of deinstitutionalization. It has been very well supported by public awareness campaigns, with a consistent funding, that substantially supported the process. In 2004, a new legislative framework has been adopted, making a transition from a system centered around protecting children in difficult situation towards a system envisaging promotion and fullfiiling rights of all children. After 2007, deinstitutionalization process continued to be developed, but at a much slower pace, while only in 2014 a new more accelerated process of deinstitutionalization has been claimed and started since 2016. Based on the key characteristics of the system presented in evolution, the paper concludes with a series of development needs in the field of child protection system in Romania.

Keywords

• child protection system
• Romania
• deinstitutionalization
• residential system
• alternative services