As many as 2,260 children are now included in the prevention services of the General Children's Rights Protection Division of the municipality of Chisinau. Another 626 minors benefit from alternative care and adoption services. The data were presented by the Division’s head Tatiana Oboroc, who noted that special emphasis is placed on the prevention component in order to avoid the separation of the child from the family and inclusion in a placement center. Contacted by IPN for details, Tatiana Oboroc spoke about the situation of vulnerable families with children and the services that help them.

Prevention of separation of child from family

The municipal Division supports children left without parental protection and those at risk. In order to prevent the separation of the child from the family, 10 day centers for children and families at risk were established, by two in each sector. The centers are assisted by teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, depending on the child's needs. "An individualized assistance plan is developed, which involves working with both parents and the child and on this component we have acheived good results. Within a year, more than 15 families enjoyed a positive impact on the separation of the child from the family," said Tatiana Oboroc.



Mothers with children, victims of domestic violence, can find shelter and the necessary support at the maternal placement center for the mother-child couple. "Following an analysis, it was found that in many families there is both physical and psychological violence against mothers with children. Evidently, the child protection system takes care of children living in such conditions. That is why we created the service – the maternity center – where mothers who are subjected to domestic violence can benefit from assistance for up to six months, until the situation in the family is remedied. If the problem is not resolved, the placement notice is extended up to 12 months. Throughout this period, we work with mothers and children, offering them help. At the same time, mothers are looking for a job to ensure a living and independence. After evaluating the case, if it is determined that the mother can cover the rent of an apartment and found a job, she can leave our service," the head of the directorate said.

Families in difficulty, either because of low income or because both parents work or are students and cannot leave the children in the care of someone, can leave them at the day center for children from 4 months to 3 years (social nursery). This service is free of charge like the other services mentioned, and registration is made by contacting the Sector Children's Rights Protection Division.



Tatiana Oboroc said that the services created so far in the municipality were functional, but there were not so many programs implemented for their beneficiaries. Thus, lately, emphasis has been placed on training and development of specialized programs, such as the program to increase the professional resilience of child protection personnel, the program to improve family relations for divorced parents, the program to increase emotional resilience for children and families at risk. Another program is related to the development of parenting skills for caregivers and surrogate parents.

Children on the street 

Children living on the street are helped through the street assistance service attached to the municipal Division. "Every day, practically, graphs are drawn up, raids are made at the local level, together with the police. We established intersectoral cooperation with law enforcement, educational and medical institutions. We identify the places where there are these children, who either abandon their family, school or are forced by other circumstances to end up on the street. We place them in our service. For 72 hours the child receives assistance. We establish the status of the child, identify the residence visa at the place where they come from and contact the guardianship authority. Subsequently, the child is handed over either to the family or taken over by the competent authority at the place of origin," explained Tatiana Oboroc.

This year, the Division identified 79 children on the street, of whom 29 come from Chisinau municipality, and 50 from other localities of the Republic of Moldova.



Assistance for children with disabilities

Almost 700 children with disabilities were out on the register of the General Children's Rights Protection Division. According to Tatiana Oboroc, the number of children with mental disabilities, especially with autism spectrum disorders, has increased significantly lately. In the municipality of Chisinau, there are four day centers for children with disabilities, which do not cover the needs of all children. There is a waiting register for this service. The Division aims to create a complex of services intended for children with disabilities in the future. Such children need to be worked on from an early age, regularly, so as to achieve positive results.

The mobile children's team is another service that provides assistance to children with severe disabilities, who are bedridden. Specialists go to the home of these children, work with them and, if necessary, help the family to transport the child to the family doctor or to a specialized center. At present, the mobile team deals with about 30 children.

Adoption

Although there are many families in Chisinau willing to adopt a child, meeting these requests is difficult. Most parents want to adopt children from 1 to 3 years old. The choice is motivated by the desire to participate in the formation of the child's personality and character in the family. Meanwhile, most children aged 6-12 are placed at centers. Tatiana Oboroc said that the adoption process consists of several stages: from examining the application and matching the child with the adoptive family to completing the procedure in court. During this period, the specialists work with both the children and the parents who participate in training.



The Division’s head said that there were cases when, during the matching period, the connection between the child and the parents was not established, the adoptive parents being rejected. There were cases when children were taken into families, but returned after a period of time.

Financial support

Families with children from Chisinau who are difficulty receive once a year up to 4,000 lei in financial support offered by the municipality. An annual payment is granted to families who have children with disabilities, where the salary does not cover the minimum expenses necessary for family maintenance, etc. The Division's team examines the application and goes to the applicant's home to assess the living conditions. Also, the certificates regarding the salary at the workplace, the number of children and other relevant information are checked. This year, 376 families with 864 children received financial support and the applications of another 189 families with 503 children are being examined.

Tatiana Oboroc stressed that the situation regarding child protection has improved both in the municipality of Chisinau and at the national level. The progress is due to the development of assistance services regarding prevention and habitation.

Milena Macarciuc, IPN