Child protection in Romania after the fall of communism….

The paper reviews policies established since the fall of communism (1989) to deal with the effects of abandonment of children as a result of Ceaucescu’s pro-natalist policies.

Child protection; Permanency planning; Foster care; Group homes; Prevention services; Children in institutions

[1] Law no. 3 of 28 March 1970 concerning the protection of certain categories of minors.

[2] Government Emergency Ordinance no. 26 of 9 June 1997 concerning the protection of children at risk.

[3] Law no. 272 of 21 June 2004 concerning the protection and promotion of children’s rights.

[4] In this article the term “foster care” is used in order to designate the form of care provided by professional families, in their own home.

[5] UNICEF, 1997, Îşi poate permite Romania sa refuze. Costurile şi beneficiile implementării alternativelor bazate pe comunitate la ingrijirile institutionalizate (Can Romania say no? The cost and benefit of implementing community-based alternatives to institutional care), Bucharest, p. 16.

[6] Cojocaru, Ş., Cojocaru, D., 2006, Identificarea practicilor privind managementul de caz la nivelul DGASPC. Studiu Naţional (Identifying the practices of case management in DGASPC-s. A national research), Research report for National Authority for the Protection of Child’s Rights, pp. 19-21.

[7] Between 1993 and 1994, at the beginning the foster care in Romania, 53 children benefited by foster care services.

[8] UNICEF, 1997, Op.cit.

[9] ANPDC, 1995, www.copii.ro, May.

[10] Johnson, K., Wagner, D., 2005, Evaluation of Michigan’s foster care case management system, Research on Social Work Practice, vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 372-380.

[11] Identifying the practices of case management in DGASPC-s, pp. 21-22.

[12] Identifying the practices of case management in DGASPC-s, pp. 24-25.

[13] Public Social Assistance Services (Serviciile Publice de Asistenţă Socială – SPAS) are subordinated to city/town halls and commune Mayor’s offices.

[14] Cojocaru, Ş., Cojocaru, D., 2007, Evaluarea serviciior de prevenire de la nivelul comunităţilor locale din România. Studiu naţional (An evaluation of prevention services within local communities. A national research), Research report for the National Authority for the Protection of Child’s Rights, pp. 62-64.

[15] Jones, L.P., Okamura, A., 2000, Reprofessionalizing child welfare services: an evaluation of title IVE training program, Research on Social Work Practice, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 607-621.

[16] An evaluation of prevention services within local communities.p. 101.  

[17] Order nr. 288/2006 issued by the National Authority for the Protection of Child’s Rights for the approval the minimum compulsory standards concerning case management in the domain of child welfare.

[18] Collins-Camargo, C., Ensign, K., Flaherty, C., 2007, The national quality improvement on privatization of Child Welfare Services: a program description, Research on Social Work Practice, vol. X, No. X, pp. 1-10.

[19] Bailey-Dempsey, C., Reid, W.J., 1996, Intervention design and development: a case study, Research on Social Work Practice, vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 208-228.

[20] Barth, R.P., Ladsverk, J., Chamberlain, P., Reid, J., Rolls, J.A., Hurlburt, M.S., Farmer, E.M., James, S., McCabe, K.M., Kohl, P.L., 2005, Parent-training programs in Child Welfare Services: planning for a more evidence-based approach to serving biological parents, Research on Social Work Practice, vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 353-371.

[21] Martin, L.L., 2003, Performance-based contracting for human service: does it work?, Administration in Social Work, vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 63-77.