With highs and lows, 2017 is nearing its end. It is a good time for conclusions. On this occasion, IPN has gathered good thought from all over the globe, this time only good thoughts, from decision-makers and from those on the receiving end of these decisions. What good has come of 2017? This is the question we posed to the people who have accepted to join us in our pursuit of the good in our surroundings and in the events that affect us. Although many things do not follow our wishes, winners are the people and societies that learn to see challenges and lesser things as extra opportunities to get involved and make things better. For each of the topics we approach, we provide rankings that reflect the opinions of those who developed them. Read further for the good things 2017 has brought to the field of support for Children without Parental Care.
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Top-5 from CCF/HHC Moldova:
1. Number of children in housing institutions continued its downward trend.
“This is due to the shutdown of institutions and strengthening of families with the help of services and support provided by the childcare service, by the authorities, professionals, as well as NGOs. Hence, in 2017, the number of children who are still living in orphanages and children’s homes is around 1200 (compared to 115000 at the start of the reform, in 2006), and ever more children grow up in families or family-type alternative.”
2. Continued expansion and diversification of alternative family-type services; certain districts approved PPA services for the first time (Professional Parental Assistance) in 2017
“Our organization alone has contributed to the formation of 35 new PPA families.”
3. In July, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection has approved a new Home Visit program, with revised contents focusing on strengthening families, identifying social risks, and evaluating the psycho-emotional development of children aged 0-3.
“The visits are done by medical nurses, who evaluate the physical, social, and psycho-emotional state of children, from birth to three years of age. Besides checking children’s health, the nurses offer family counseling, advice and guidance for improving their parental abilities, identify medical risks, as well as social ones risks that families face, in order to refer them to relevant specialists, and to help vulnerable families. Around 175 medical nurses and family doctors have been instructed on how to conduct home visits in the four pilot districts: the municipality of Bălți, Glodeni, Drochia and Dondușeni, and 86 medical assistants already apply the new method during visits to their patients’ homes.”
4. We have inaugurated the Glodeni Daycare facility, which currently hosts 12 children between four months and three years of age.
“The Daycare is a social service offered to vulnerable families, which aims at preventing child abandonment and at supporting families. Until now CCF/HHC has developed, in total, five facilities of this type have been inaugurated, and one more open in Bălți next year.”
5. Gala of Generosity 2017 - our main fundraising event for the vulnerable children and families who are part of our programs.
“The event, which takes place every year under the patronage of the soprano of international fame Valentina Nafornița, has raised 30 thousand euro, money that we will pledge to the prevention of separation of children from their families. We are certain that the FAMILY is the most appropriate medium of growth and harmonious development for each CHILD. We will take our mission further: letting no child suffer in housing institutions.”
Top-5 from the Municipal Directorate for the Protection of Children’s Rights (DMPDC):
1. In 2017, an new daycare service for children with disabilities has been created, as well as two daycares for children up to three years of age.
“Currently, the service entails four daycare groups, and in 2018 the DMPDC plans to implement the social assisted housing service for children.”
2. The number of children released by housing institutions has grown considerably.
“In 2012, state/private placement centers housed 460 children, relative to 172 children at the end of this year’s first quarter. Boarding schools were housing 1218 children in 2005, in 2017 - only 96 children. Various activities are set in place to prevent checking children into institutions, as well as to reintegrate previously committed children. Among them is family support through financial help, which current has 46 beneficiary families, who have together received a total of 176 thousand lei. We also have the Municipal Fund for Socially Vulnerable Family Support, which this year had 301 beneficiary families, i.e. a total 551 children. With the help of our sponsors, 2664 vulnerable families with a total of 3129 children have benefited from humanitarian aid and 13 families have received financial aid. Furthermore, upon DMPDC’s request, this is the seventh consecutive year in which the Chișinău Municipal Council (CMC) allots financial resources for the purchase of public transportation passes for children without parental care, those from housing institutions and from vulnerable families. In 2016, a total of 5727 passes have been given to children from the above-mentioned groups, the yearly sum allotted by the CMC rising to 400 890 lei.”
3. Number of child and newborn abandonment cases has fallen considerably since 2001:
2001 – 217 children;
2005 – 106 children;
2011 – 44 children;
2015 – 15 children;
2016 – 4 children (two of whom have been reintegrated into their biological families);
2017 – 2 children.
“This is an outcome brought upon by prevention programs regarding children’s abandonment and commitment to housing institutions. To that end, the “Mellow Parenting” program has been implement by the “Partnerships for every child” CSO, in cooperation with the Directorate, within the “Mellow Parenting for happy and healthy children” project. The goal of the Program is to improve security, wellbeing, and development of vulnerable children up to five years of age, especially for those with increased risk of abandonment and separation, due to lack of adequate parental care and weak parent-child relationships.”
4. The campaign to raise awareness regarding beggary and children’s exploitation through beggary: “Don’t hand money! Help us protect them!”
“Brochures have been edited, promoting the message: “Involving children in beggary is illegal!”, distributed throughout public transportation means and televised social ads.”
5. A joint plan between all relevant state and private institutions who work towards the protection of children’s rights, to identify children in various public high-risk situations.
“Thus, identified under health or life-threatening risk, children who are unsupervised in public are separated from their parents or caretakers, if the latter group don’t fulfill their obligations regarding the care and education of a child. The children are put under legal guardianship and put, under relevant legal provisions, into extended families, medical institutions (if needed) or under the care of Immediate Placement Services, which has been an active part of the DMPDC since November 2014. Aiming at preventing and combating this phenomenon, recommendations have been issued, on the improvement of life conditions for children with deviant behavior, who are homeless, as well as for those who already have criminal records. Among them is the establishment of a specialized service for children with criminal histories, and the development of programs that work with families of children with deviant behavior, as well as programs of rehabilitation for the former. We also need to identify the funds necessary to cover social services for children who come from outside the Municipality of Chișinău, etc.”
Top-5 from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection (MSPMPS):
1. Development and implementation of the Regulation framework regarding the organization and functions of the Social Placement Center for Children without Parental Care, and its minimum quality Standards.
2. Development and implementation of the Draft Decision on amending and completing the Regulation framework regarding the organization and functions of the Social Center for Families with Children, and its minimum quality Standards.
3. Development and implementation of the Draft Decision on the Regulation framework regarding the organization and functions of children’s social housing services the home type, and relevant minimum quality Standards.
4. Development and implementation of the Draft Instruction on cross-sector cooperation with regards to primary prevention of risks and securing children’s welfare.
5. Development and implementation of the Draft Law on amending and completing certain legislative documents, aiming to implementation efficiency for Law 140/2013.
Top-5 from the Office of the Children’s Ombudsperson:
1. Improve in the exposure and credibility of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsperson.
“This conclusion comes from the twofold increase in the number of requests submitted to the Children’s Ombudsperson, openness to cooperation with public and local authorities, non-governmental organizations and mass media in the discussion and resolution of children’s rights issues. We keep a constant dialogue with children, listen and promote their opinions: a) during the Forum in June this year, where children have had the possibility to express their opinions in front of Ministers and MPs, b) including the children’s opinion in the Alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in February, c) as well as in the 2016 Children’s Ombudsperson Report on the state of Children’s Rights in Moldova. We also deem noteworthy the involvement of children in monitoring the implementation of UN Committee Recommendations, issued following the country Report on the observance of the Convention, presented by the MSPMPS in September.”
2. Development and implementation of Government Decision nr. 591 as of 24 July 2017, for the approval of the Regulation framework regarding the organization and functions of the Social Placement Center for Children without Parental Care, and its minimum quality Standards.
“It serves to offer temporary protection for children left without parental care, and their (re)integration into families and/or communities and the society.”
3. On 6 February 2017, the Republic of Moldova signed the Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Maia Bănărescu, Children’s Ombudsperson: “Moldova’s adherence to the provisions of the Convention will allow strengthening protection mechanisms for children, consolidation of institutions relevant to the field of children’s rights. I appreciate the effort of all actors involved in protecting children’s rights within the anti-violence campaign that took place at the end of this year, which also involved children, and I think it is important to continue activities against violence - awareness-raising activities for the population, on the negative effects of violence, where victims of violence could seek protection, activities to charge parents who commit non-bodily violence towards children (exploitation through labor, etc.), as well as activities involving entire communities.”
4. From the perspective of children’s rights advocacy, we hold special interest towards the approval and implementation of new generation medical devices, warranted by the adoption of Law nr. 102, on medical devices, as of 9 June 2017. Furthermore, the simplified procedure to bring “CE”-marked products to the market through a notification procedure, regulated by the same Law.
5. Commencement of dialogue between the Children’s Ombudsperson and relevant authorities, regarding system-wide amendments to education curricula, by guaranteeing a an educational process that would follow the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Furthermore, we are preparing a nation-wide standard sex education curriculum (interpersonal relations, reproductive health, etc.) that will contribute to the protection of children against risks in this regard. Concomitantly, rising the quality of children’s education on their rights, including mention of the Children’s Ombudsperson.”