The separation from the family of 278 children was avoided, while another 75 children left for good the residential institution for children of an early age situated in Balti. This was possible thanks to a project implemented by CCF Moldova – Child, Community, Family in partnership with United National Children’s Fund and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection. The results were presented in a roundtable meeting on November 23, IPN reports.
Within the project, there were created two social crèches, in Glodeni and Balti, which are intended for socially deprived families with small children. There were formed 21 new families of professional parent assistants and another five such families are to be authorized by the authorities. There was piloted a service within which nurses visit families with children younger than three to assess their state of health.
Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Stela Grigoras said that Moldova made significant progress in ensuring the children’s right to a family during the last few years. Currently, fewer than 1,000 children are in residential institutions and the achieved results are very good. In the future, the efforts will be aimed at primary prevention.
CCF Moldova director Liliana Rotaru said that everything possible was made for the children, especially those younger than three, to remain in their families. If the families are not suitable, the children are placed with parental care services. Only in a family or an alternative family environment can that child-parent/parent assistant indication be ensured to meet the immediate needs of the child. This does not happen in a residential institution.
Rodica Mustata, professional parent assistant from Drochia, looks after three foster children. She said that even if the state provides support, the allowances are insufficient, especially because one of the children needs costly treatment. Even if they sometimes cannot cope, they do not regret that they chose to accept these children into their family as they consider each child has the right to a family environment. Their biological children are mature and they felt the need to offer a home to other children.
Another professional parent assistant, from Edinet, cares for four foster children. She is a primary school teacher and worked all her life with small children. The woman said it is very important for a child to grow in a family as the self-service capacity develops faster in a family than in an institution. In a family, the children become independent and copy the adults and the positive effects are seen even from the first years of life.
The project, to the value of over €400,000, had been implemented during October 2015 – December 2017.
