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We are often asked questions about the current state of child protection in Romania.
How many children are in the care of the state? What proportion of these are living in placement centers? How is Romania's foster care program progressing? Why are children abandoned?
Here, we have tried to pull together some of the latest information regarding child protection and children in state care both nationally, and locally in Iaşi, together with some explanations of commonly used terms, and links to useful websites.
We hope you find it helpful!
Research in Iaşi: A major comparitive study of child welfare services in Iaşi and Chişinău, Moldova, was published in July 2008. Instigated by the Josif Foundation, in partnership with other NGOs and government organizations, the study reveals the latest data on the interventions with at-risk and abandoned children in the two regions >>>more>>>
See more articles and reports |
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At Shelter of Care, we work with two groups of young people: those who are currently living in a placement center or community placement unit, and, through Project Amos, young adults who are already living independently, or are transitioning to independent living.
Placement Centers
This is the official name for the institutions which came to be known as 'orphanages'.
We work with children living in Bucium Placement Center, on the edge of the city, and Tătăraşi, near the center. We also used to work in Primaverii Placement Center, but that facility has closed down as part of the reform process.
Things have changed a great deal in the institutions in recent years. In 1996, Bucium housed 420 girls, but now there are only around 80 girls and boys. Most noticeable is the massive reduction in very young children. As recently as 2001, Bucium had a very large kindergarten of children under seven. Now, after laws forbidding the placing of under 2s in institutions like Bucium, the only kindergarten-aged children are siblings of older children who have been placed in Bucium to keep them together. |
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The placement centers are where we run our weekly clubs and activities. In the past, we expended a lot of time and energy improving the physical and material situation of the children, and providing worthwhile activities and opportunities for their development. However, as conditions have improved and numbers have fallen, the need for this kind of support has lessened. Now we concentrate on forming relationships with the children so that in future they will be able to access our transition support programs more easily.
Community Placement Units
A common solution to the need to reduce numbers in institutions, community placement units are small children's homes of 6-12 children living together with a 'social mother' or father. Children in these projects are still supervised directly by one of the big institutions, but they grow up in a smaller, more family-style environment.
We have taken young people from units like these on camp with us in the past, but until we opened our office base, it was difficult to maintain any long term work with them. Now, older teenagers from these homes form our main client base at the Project Amos centre. |
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While these community placement units are a great improvement on large impersonal institutions, they are not without their own limitations.
The carers who live in with the young people are employees who may change jobs or be re-deployed elsewhere. While this happens in institutions, each carer is only one of many. In a community unit, young people build a relationship with only one or two carers, and can suffer quite a sense of loss when that carer moves on.
As soon as the young people complete their full-time education, they are required to leave, often with very little support. We saw a young woman who had been on many camps with us about six months after she had moved out of her community placement apartment. |
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When we commented on how thin she looked, she explained that she was renting a room in a family's apartment, and the men of the family spent all evening in the kitchen talking and smoking. She was too intimidated to go in there and cook anything, and anyway, she had no utensils for cooking so she was living on bread and cold food.
Independent Living
The young people we began working with when Shelter of Care was founded in 2000 are all now living independently, some married with their own children. However, this does not mean that they no longer require support. Many of our older clients vividly remember the institutions as they were during communist times, and suffer from the deep psychological effects of those experiences. We are always available for these adult survivors of Ceaucescu's orphanages, and our vision is to eventually found a dedicated center to provide specialist services for the many thousands that still live with the effects of these terrible places.
Transition support has always been a staple part of our work. Through our Project Amos center we provide support not only for those already living independently, but for those preparing to take that step, including several students at Iaşi's universities. Our Project Amos pages provide more information about our work with transitioning young people. |
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- In 2005, of Romania's children were registered as being in the care of the authorities ('abandoned' children)
- This figure represents of all of Romania's children
- Excluding the 24,689 children who have officially been homed with members of their own extended family (up to four degrees removed), the total number of 'looked after' children in 2005 was 69,471, or of Romania's children
- For comparison, the number of 'looked after' children in England in 2007 was 60,000, representing of England's children
- Of children classed as 'abandoned' in Romania in 2005, - large institutions that are sometimes called orphanages
- Just under of different kinds, often groups of 6-10 children living with a 'social' mother or father
- A further of abandoned children are living in official placements
- For comparison, in England, of 'looked after'children are living in foster care placements
All Romanian statistics from the website of Institutul National De Statistica, www.insse.ro, from Anuarul Statisic al României 2006.
All English statistics from the website of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, www.dcsf.gov.uk |
click on graphs
to see
full-size versions
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February 2009
Adopted children may develop diseases of the immune system
The hidden effects of abandonment: a recent study demonstrates that abandoned children suffer from long-term health consequences of stressful early experiences even if they are adopted at a young age by a loving family >>>more>>>
February 2009
Romanians Abroad
As one third of Romania's active workforce now work abroad, what are the consequences for those left behind? >>>more>>>
November 2008
350,000 'orphaned' children have parents
A staggering 350,000 children in Romania have at least one parent working abroad. For some of these children this means a childhood spent in the care of the state >>>more>>>
 October 2008
Infant of 8 months eats seafood and meatballs, and drinks beer
A wide-ranging inspection of foster care services in Romania results in a damning report, as detailed in popular newspaper 'Gândul' >>>more>>>
August 2008
20,000 Children in Foster Care
Translation of an article from MediaFax giving interesting background information on the process of becoming a professional foster carer in Romania >>>more>>>
August 2008
Parents working in Italy, children thrown in the orphanage
Article from Gândul uncovering the story of two brothers who spent eight years in various placement centers, waiting and hoping for their parents' return >>>more>>>
July 2008
Comparitive study concerning at-risk children in Iaşi and Chişinău
A major comparitive study of child welfare services in Iaşi and Chişinău, Moldova, was published in July this year. Instigated by the Josif Foundation, in partnership with other NGOs and government organizations, the study reveals the latest data on the interventions with at-risk and abandoned children in the two regions >>>more>>
January 2007
Foster care controversy
The President of the National Authority for Child Protection, and the Director of the Department of Social Assistance (sector 1) give their views on new foster care regulations in this article from 'Zuia' >>>more>>>
March 2006
The orphans still fighting for life
The Observer Newspaper's Romanian correspondent reports on the realities of the changes being brought about by compliance with EU membership demands, and considers whether the fast pace of change is really benefitting the neediest children >>>more>>> (links to The Observer's website)
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