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Deputies adopted the law regarding the activity to prevent the separation of the child from the family
The Chamber of Deputies, as a decision-making body, adopted, on Wednesday, with 222 votes "for" and 40 "against", the draft law regarding the organization of the activity to prevent the separation of the child from the family.
According to the draft law, initiated by the Government, "the activity to prevent the separation of the child from the family is based on the promotion of the principle of the child's best interest and the respect of the child's rights; the promotion of social, spiritual and moral well-being, physical and mental health, in any form and through any means for the child exposed to the risk of separation from the family; the promotion, with priority, of family values, the maintenance of the child exposed to the risk of separation in the family and his integration into the community; the participation of the child, depending on the age and degree of maturity, and the family to the decisions that concern him/her".
The draft law stipulates that a child is considered at risk of separation from the family if the family that deals with his/her upbringing and care is faced with an economic situation and precarious living conditions existing in his/her family environment and/or in the community, respectively a situation of risk of monetary poverty or extreme poverty; the precarious state of health of one or more family members, including their disability; the abusive, violent environment existing in the family and risky behaviors that can negatively affect the relationships between adults, children and between adults and children.
Also, even if the family that takes care of the child's upbringing and care does not face any of these situations, he/she will be considered to be at risk of separation in case of delinquent behavior, repeated leaving home, alcohol and drug use, suicide attempts and school dropout.
"To prevent the separation of the child from the family, the public social assistance service has the obligation to support the family that takes care of the upbringing and care of a child that may be at risk of separation, if the family, depending on its economic situation and living conditions, lives in extreme poverty; has low incomes and does not receive social assistance benefits; has a single supporting parent or both parents without employment or unemployment; occupies without right certain living spaces, including illegally built spaces or improvised housing or spaces that are not intended for living; does not have enough living space in relation to the number of people, respectively the house is overcrowded; lives in inappropriate spaces or encounters problems regarding the safety and hygiene of the house," the draft law states.
Also targeted are families that care for a minor mother or a pregnant minor, have members with disabilities that significantly affect their quality of life and their participation in social life, have at least one family member who does not have civil status documents, have or have had one or more children for whom a special protection measure has been established, in which the sole supporting parent or both parents are away working abroad, in which one or more children who have returned to their country of origin after an experience for over a year of migration. Other targeted families are those who had or have one or more children abandoned in health facilities, one or more members sentenced to a custodial sentence.
At the same time, the public social assistance service will have the obligation to support the family that has one or more hospitalized children, has one or more school-aged children who have not been enrolled in a form of education or who do not attend the courses of a form of compulsory education, has one or more children with special educational requirements.
The draft law also stipulates that the public social assistance service carries out an assessment of the risk of separation in which the child is at his/her home, with priority being followed on the aspects related to the permanent or occasional nature of the risk situation, the level of physical development, psychological, education and health, security and stability of the child, his/her belonging to the family and intra-family relations, the ability of the parents to understand the risk to which the child is exposed, their degree of mobilization and acceptance of support proposals, as well as parental skills.
If, following the evaluation of a child and his/her family, the public social assistance service finds that he/she is in at least a vulnerable situation, a service plan will be drawn up, which will be approved by the mayor's order.
The plan, which is drawn up for a period of at least 12 months, will necessarily include services and activities intended for parents, which may consist of: information, counseling and accompaniment in the field of health, education, employment, housing and social protection; development of parental skills; facilitating their access to social assistance benefits and existing services; referral to social, educational, health and employment services.
This plan must also consider measures to improve the family's financial situation, living conditions, parenting skills, household skills, as well as ensuring access to and participation in various forms of education, treatment or rehabilitation for risky behaviors, drug and alcohol consumption, adequate care and protection of children against any form of violence, supporting parents whose children have benefited from or may need protection services.
The monitoring of the implementation of the plan will be carried out by the social assistant or, as the case may be, by the social assistance technician responsible for the activity of preventing the separation of the child from the family within the public social assistance service through visits to the homes of the children in a situation of separation.
The draft law also provides for the establishment of the National Child's Observatory, which is a module within an IT system developed and administered by the National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption.
During the debates, the deputies MPs with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) protested against this draft law, displaying several placards in front of the tribune with the messages: "We help the family, we don't steal the children", "Stop the national robbery".