Comparative Iasi-Chisinau study on situation of children in difficulty

Most children in difficulty are neglected or abused in their own family environments, shows a comparative study on the situation of children in difficulty conducted in Chisinau and the Romanian city of Iasi. The survey is designed for specialists in the field and makes an update of the situation of children in difficulty. According to the study, the risk factors that induce and preserve a state of difficulty for a child are mainly related to parental recklessness. Poverty is a trigger, which in combination with other risk factors, may lead to abandonment. To achieve progress, the study recommends action at the level of social policies, community, at institutional level and a casework approach. However, compared with 5 years ago, the study finds an improvement. The social assistants and psychologists who contributed to the survey confirm the fact that there have been made many steps forward in what concerns the legal framework and the rendered social services, The study was conducted as part of the project “Cross-border Partnership for Support to Children in Difficulty” run by the Iosif Foundation. The project is implemented in association with Caritas Moldova and financed by the European Union through the Neighborhood Program Romania - Moldova, Phare CBC 2005. “We want this material to be useful both to professionals working directly with these children and to those who make decisions on social policies and new governmental child protection policies”, says Sebastian Ghica, manager of the Iosif Foundation. The survey was carried out in partnership with the Chisinau Children's Rights Division and the Iasi-based counterpart organization. The work will be published in 1,000 copies and distributed among the specialists working in the filed in Romania and Moldova. The report will also be sent to decision-makers in Bucharest and Chisinau as a starting point for new social policies intended to help children in difficulty.