The Closure of Institutions for Children Is a Priority for Structural Funding

The European Regional Development Fund report was voted in the REGIO committee recently, as announced by Eurochild. The Members of the European Parliament voted to keep a clause that identifies de-institutionalisation (DI) as a priority issue for structural funds. Concretely, the Rapporteur for ERDF and the Regional Development (REGI) committee not only maintained the text proposed by the Commission (“transition from institutional to community-based services”), but they further strengthened it by adding an explicit mention of services for family support (“community and family-based services”). Eurochild actively lobbied to achieve this result, knowing the crucial role played by early intervention and preventative family-support services, as well as fostering and family-like settings - as alternatives to institutionalisation. This is a step forward in formalising the allocation of structural funding for prevention and the creation of family-based alternative services. The completion of the de-institutionalisation process is more and more realistic.

10,000 Vacant Jobs in the Childcare System

The crisis in the childcare system in terms of human resources is easily visible: 10,000 vacant jobs. And the lower you go to the basis of the pyramid (where the people actually work with the children in state care), the more vacant jobs. Other 4,000 jobs are vacant in the system of adults in care, where the situation is the same: the lower you go to the direct work with the beneficiaries, the more vacant jobs. All social services have less staff then required by the structures of staff. In the institutions, there are over 900 jobs vacant. In the emergency reception centres, close to 200. In the recuperation centres, another 200. In the day centres, more than 200. And so on.

As we speak, according to an emergency ordinance issued by the Romanian Government, under the burden of the budget austerity, only one person can be employed to every seven leaving the jobs. On this ratio of 1 to 7, family type homes and other services run on half or a third of their staff need. What results in bad childcare. And this leads to hazard situations where, due to the lack of human resources, care and activities, the children and the youngsters are vulnerable. There is an open gate to accidents, to crisis situations, to abuse upon children, due to negligence and the lack of basic care.

As it is now, the childcare system is in crisis on human resources. The paradox is that, in the counties, the authorities have the necessary funds to employ staff. But the emergency ordinance that led to this lack of balance has to be revisited. Before it is too late.

When the employees in offices come close to children

For the GlaxoSmithKline România specialists, a day"s job is field work, visits to medical doctors, hospitals, discussions with partners and pharmaceutical sales. Today, seven GSK employees from the Baia Mare and Oradea offices, came as volunteers in the Hollosi and Alba Iulia Family Type Homes, in Baia Mare town. Let us clarify: the houses are named according to the streets they are on. In each house, 12 children live their childhoods, and Orange Day shared smiles, as the GSK employees donate one working day per year to a charitable cause. This time, we were the lucky ones. The seven GSK volunteers split into two teams: the ones from the Baia Mare office - in the Hollosi house and the ones from the Oradea office - in the Alba Iulia house. They came with loads of presents, bringing children toothbrushes, with animal toy covers, toothpaste, jugs, colouring books. Then the children and the volunteers played together. They talked about hygiene, why washing your teeth is important, they got a timetable to write down when they wash their teeth. They received a colouring book, with Tooth-Fairy, and the volunteers then read them the fairy tale. Later on, they had some more fun, planting together flowers: every two children have their own window-box with flowers, and their names painted on it.

Diana, a little girl in the Hollosi house, insisted for her flowers to be in her room, not outdoors.

After planting flowers, they all went to the park, to the play-ground. The older boys in the houses played football with the GSK volunteers, and the girls made drawings on the asphalt.

At two o"clock, they had lunch, with pizza and juice. At the end of the day, they had a ride on the little train in the park, and ate candy floss. Then, they came back home, where the children asked them if they would visit again. In the first part of the day, the kids were shy. Once they became friends, in the afternoon, the volunteers were giving hugs to the children.

It has been a very good day for our children. We hope it was good for the GSK volunteers, as well. I would like to think of this as of a beginning. Because we have thousands of other children GSK volunteers can bring smiles and happiness for.  And the feeling of care and protection the children have when they are into somebody"s arms, deserve all the time in the world.

Thank you, GlaxoSmithKline, for being close to us!

Infant Mortality in Romania

We live in a country where twice more children die when compared to the rest of Europe. Due to commonplace diseases, due to poverty, lack of hygiene, a comatose health system and lack of respect of children in need, 9.8 infants in a thousand die, more than double when compared to the average in Europe.

A clear sign of ignorance and disinterest in children"s welfare, this indicator shows how much there is still to be done in Romania. This sign is not only relevant for the health services and the miserable state they are in, this is also telling of the lack of action in developing innovative social services, as well as in establishing mobile and targeted interaction with those children who need help most.

I dream of a day when we are quoted for a positive record related to children. The paradox is that we know what needs to be done. Getting the right political decision is the problem. Maybe the current government, which is still to prove its impact, could change this trend. An then less children would die.

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