Romania has applied for membership of the EU despite concern in some quarters about its childcare services. However, it is availing of extensive funding from the EU to develop projects to address a legacy of problems.
Last year, Romania revised its National Strategy on Child Protection and is in the process, with the European Commission, of implementing a programme of grant aid totalling €25 million.
According to Roelie Post, deputy head of the EU team overseeing Romania's application for accession, strategy now being funded includes:
Creating and developing community integrated child welfare projects at local level with an emphasis on preventing child abandonment and institutionalisation;
Closing large residential care institutions by providing alternative facilities/services;
Sharing EU expertise to ensure co-operation at central and local level on Romania's overall social protection policies that target support to families with children and to prevent children being institutionalised; and
A national public awareness campaign aimed at preventing children being abandoned and their re-integration into natural or foster families as well as promoting national adoptions.
There is also resistance to the use of the word orphanage as many of the children do have contact, albeit infrequent, with their natural families.