CHILD PROTECTION IN EASTERN EUROPE
Child Protection in Eastern Europe
Child Protection in Eastern Europe - Bulgaria
Child Protection - Anni, 7 year old small group home resident, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
The toppling of the communist regime and the death of Ceauşescu in 1989 highlighted to the world the oppression and impoverishment of Romania. An estimated 110,000 children had been abandoned and condemned to life in bleak, state-run institutions.
Across Eastern Europe, over 1.3 million children were suffering the same fate.
Decades of research have demonstrated that institutionalisation significantly damages a child’s health and development. ARK’s pioneering work has been giving children the chance to live in a caring environment, improving their life chances dramatically.
By 2000, childcare reform was beginning. Romania was seeking membership of the European Union and one of the requirements placed upon it was to tackle the problem of institutions.
Hope and Homes for Children (HHC) had been operating in Eastern Europe since 1994 with the aim of giving abandoned children a better life. In 2002, ARK joined forces with HHC to support the closure of institutions in Romania, moving thousands of children into families or small group homes.
HHC has played a key role in the process of deinstitutionalisation in Eastern Europe. This commitment has enabled Romania to make great progress. The number of children in institutions is down from 110,000 to just over 11,300 now. However, there are still over 100 large state institutions remaining, and children continue to be placed in institutions due to the lack of alternative services.
A partnership for change
ARK and HHC share a strong commitment to deinstitutionalisation and, by 2008, had been working together successfully for six years. As the relationship evolved and the possibility to promote even greater reforms increased, ARK and HHC launched the HHC-ARK Partnership for Romania, with the objectives:
- 6 institutions to close by the end of 2010
- 495 children to move into new homes
- 3,000 more children to be prevented from entering institutions
The two and a half year programme draws extensively on ARK’s experience in Bulgaria. This included increased monitoring, evaluation and reporting which has provided a solid tool kit for reform. Coupled with HHC’s proven expertise in deinstitutionalisation, this makes for a very powerful collaboration.
The Partnership is working to close the remaining institutions in Maramureş County in Romania – making it the first large county to complete the deinstitutionalisation process in the country. Institutional closures will also be accelerated in Bacău County, creating a benchmark for reform across the Central and Eastern European region.
The work of the HHC-ARK Partnership for Romania is groundbreaking. It will act as a catalyst for systemic change, to influence the closure of the remaining large-scale institutions across the country. Romania will become the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to embrace fully a family focused care system. Romania can now be viewed as a role model for other countries that a at an earlier stage in their reform process.
“I would describe it as a paradigm shift. Compared to where we were five years ago, we are now really seeing progress for vulnerable children and the systems which support them.”