FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION SOME HINTS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROCESS IN THE BACAU...

FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATIO

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SOME HINTS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROCESS IN THE BACAU COUNTY

Presentation by Sorin Brasoveanu

FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

Deinstitutionalization requires the most radical changes in attitude, a systematic approach of the local planning – through identifying and assessing the problems encountered at a certain time, analysis of the opportunities as well as weaknesses, but also requires the creation of a system based on alternative service, focused on the identified needs, a system which should ensure the continuation of the reform.


In the Bacau county, even starting with 1993, there was a specialized social service whose aim was to promote respecting child rights, to assess the weaknesses of the existing system and to make suggestions for restructuring it.


Still since 1991, in Bacau county, in cooperation with the British NGO “Romanian Orphanage Trust” the programme “Pro-Familia” was developed in Romania: 12 houses have been built, organized in groups of 4 , where a number of about 80 children (6 – 8) children in each house) would benefit from conditions very similar to a family environment.


In 1996 a public-private partnership was developed – a foster-care system, and later this led to the increase of the number of foster care workers.

Starting with 1997, when the child protection system is being thoroughly re-organized, also the idea of closing the big units is emerging.

THE PROCESS OF CLOSING DOWN THE INSTITUTIONS

The process of closing down these institutions took into consideration:A: The evaluation of the needs of the institutionalised children - involved some aspects like:

To present a real, comprehensive picture of each child – level of development, socializing, desires, self-esteem, etc.

To present a prognostic of the future needs of that child;

To offer, going from the individual needs of each institutionalised child, a picture of the alternative services, necessary at the community level, meant to facilitate his re-integration/integration.


B: Promoting and creating some alternative services which led to:

Reducing the number of the institutionalized children by:

o Preventing the child abandonment and institutionalization by providing families in difficulty with services;

o Supporting the reintegration in the birth or extended family through services of counselling or material and financial support.


C: Development of alternative family type systems of child protection through:

Developing in our country a network of foster-care workers (with a nucleus in each place, which should prevent a separation of the child from his natural way of life).


D: Direct and responsible implication of the decision factors from the local communities through :

o Setting-up the family council, which at the moment is called in the Child Law as “Consulting Community Council”;

o Forming and developing a network of referent social workers and coordinating their work;

o Increasing the contribution of the local communities to supporting the child protection;

o Co-financing through PHARE programs or Structural Funds some primary services, according to the needs identified for each community or according to the objectives in the County Plan for deinstitutionalization


Between 1997 – 2002, the financing of the child protection system and of the development of the alternative services was achieved, as follows;

County Council Budget – 25 % Local Councils contributions : 25 %; ANPCA (National Agency for Child Protection and

Adoptions) – 50 %; World Bank – development projects of the

alternative services; Extra-budget funds – projects achieved together

with NGOs, like The Maternal Centre, The Centre for HIV children.


The EU program PHARE – “Children First” - the opportunity to have a well-planned approach of the deinstitutionalization processes and of the closing down the huge institutions.

This program became a source of financing for alternative services development, for decentralization and structural reorganization – emphasizing a planning of services development, county level coordination and concentrating these services on the child and family welfare.


2003 - there were issued two documents, very important for the continuation, on a well-planned basis, of the process of deinstitutionalization:

The County Strategy in Child Protection

The Program for Deinstitutionalization.


The objectives of these two documents are:o Identifying and developing the services

necessary at the local community level in order to prevent new entries in the child protection system;

o Analysis of the situation of each classical residential unit and planning the process of closing it down, taking into account its beneficiaries’ characteristics.

o Development of partnerships with the non-governmental sector in order to develop the system, according to the identified needs;


Approaching the development of the services as “project”-type activities.

Identifying the supplementary sources of financing, necessary for the development of the services;

Insuring the sustainability of the services that are going to be developed.


One of the points of reference in the Deinstitutionalization Program is considered to be the one connected with the financing of the process, because:

a. Deinstitutionalization does not imply simply closing an institution from an administrative point of view. It is a process which should be accepted as an option both by the beneficiaries and the decision factors.

b. What finances are necessary for the services that are going to be developed and what sources can be approached.

c. While the process is being developed, there will be two co-existing systems which, at least for a while, must be financed in parallel.

d. Of the sustainability of the new services – if they imply new providers, how they are going to be sustained.


A major change in considering deinstitutionalization was brought by Law 272/2004 regarding child protection and promoting child rights, as well as the Law of the National Social Assistance System.

Law 272/2004 says that “the principle of the best interest of the child will guide all the actions and decisions concerning children, a principle which needs to be taken into account also when it comes to the vital problem of allocating the resources. When local budgets are discussed, the right resources will be allocated for children’s needs, these needs being considered now a priority in any budget analysis. There should be a proper analysis of the relevant budgets, in order to establish the percentage and the quantum of the sums allocated for children.”


Article 118, paragraph 1 of the Law 272/2004 says: “preventing the separation of a child from his family, as well as a special protection of the child lacking, temporarily or permanently, his parents will be financed from the following sources:

local budget of the villages, towns or cities; local budgets of the counties/sectors of Bucharest city. state budget; donations, sponsorships and other private forms of

financial contributions, legally allowed. National Agency for Child Protection and Adoptions

(ANPCA) can finance national programmes for child protection and promoting child rights from external reimbursable/ none-reimbursable funds or other sources.”


These sources of financing referred exclusively to the local services – preventing the separation of a child from his family and to county services – protection for the child lacking (temporarily or permanently) his parents’ care.


According to paragraph 17, a) of the Government Ordinance no. 12/2001, amended, the local council - where the child who the special protection measure needs to be taken for lives - must have a financial contribution to support the protection system.

In the Bacau county, the amount established through a Decision of the Local Council is 35 percent for the village local councils and 50 percent for towns and cities.


Article 118, paragraph 1 is completed by Law 705/2001 concerning the National Social Assistance System, amended by and completed by Law 47/2007 and the Government Ordinance 68 / 2003 with the later amendments concerning social services - meaning that, from the local budgets of the counties, Bucharest city respectively, funds are allocated for :

- financing of the specialized social services; - co- financing, up to 50 percent of the primary

social services provided by the local councils; - financing (fully or co-financing) the organization

and development of some social assistance institutions.


From the local budgets of the villages, towns or cities funds are allocated for:

- financing primary social services – preventing separation of the child from his family.

- subsidizing the social services achieved by the accredited suppliers.

- financing or co-financing the organization and development of some community social assistance institutions.


We should mention that the main sources of finances of the deinstitutionalization program come from extra-budget sources – projects financed by PHARE, respectively, in different ways, National programs, Projects implemented in partnership with NGOs involved in the Deinstitutionalization Program.


Deinstitutionalization involves a long process.

In Bacau County this process started right in 1993 by creating a social service whose mission was to promote the child rights.

The experience accumulated all this way and the stages we went through took time, needed a change in mentalities, involved the civil society, and, especially needed community involvement.

FINANCING THE DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION SOME HINTS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROCESS IN THE BACAU...

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