Early years

Early years

Early education

Early education

Health and Nutrition

Health and Nutrition

Protection and Care

Protection and Care

Primary school years

Primary school years

Access to quality education

Access to quality education

Roma children education

Roma children education

Gender mainstreaming in education

Gender mainstreaming in education

Children in institutions

Children in institutions

Violence, abuse and neglect

Violence, abuse and neglect

Children living on the streets

Children living on the streets

Adolescence

Adolescence

Trafficking and child labor

Trafficking and child labor

Juvenile justice

Juvenile justice

HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS

Drug use and sexually transmitted illnesses

Drug use and sexually transmitted illnesses

 

Protection and Care

© UNICEF/Romania004

New born in a maternity hospital supported by UNICEF

In 2008 over 109,000 children were beneficiaries of prevention or protection measures, among whom over 37,000 in prevention services. About 46,000 children were in family-type services, including foster care, and some 24,000 (down from 25,000 in December 2007), were in residential care. Quality of care in foster families and of placement in extended families is improving. Just over 2,000 children were placed with a guardian. Most of the children in residential care are older, and many have special needs. The quality of care in foster families needs to be improved through training and better monitoring of the foster care system, while the basic causes of child abandonment must be further addressed, and integrated early childcare services need to be made available.

An emerging issue relates to the increasing number of children left behind by parents migrating to other European Union countries in search of better work opportunities. In a UNICEF supported study in 2008, it was estimated that 350,000 children were affected by this phenomenon.  A potential concern in 2009 is the possible return of as many as 700,000 Romanians from abroad who have lost their jobs in Western Europe due to the financial crisis.  Such an increase in jobless, added to those who face lay-offs on the local market, could lead to a tripling of the 360,000 declared unemployed in 2008.  However, the upside is that many of the 350,000 children left home by their parents who migrated abroad for employment could get their parents back.