RESILIENCE AND

SOCIAL COMPETENCES
TARGET GROUPS

Adela etet
CFCECAS/Romania

TARGET GROUP PROPOSAL

children from the
social protection
system (residential
centers, social
houses, foster care)

children from poor

families

children from
penitentiary/
probation system

left behind children

(children with one
or both parents
abroad)

LEFT BEHIND CHILDREN IN

ROMANIA
Total number of families working abroad

62.002

Total number of children which have one or both parents working 82.133
abroad
Families where both parents are working abroad

15.848

Families where one parent is working abroad

37.930

Total number of children left at home from families where one 50.519
parent is working abroad
Total number of children left at home from families where both 21.469
parents are working abroad

Number of children left at home, in the care of relatives ( up 20.302

to grade IV ) without child protection measures

Number of children left at home, which benefit of special 1.092

measure of protection. Out of which:
In foster care

190

In residential care

243

Living with relatives (up to grade IV)

571

Living with other families/persons

88

Other situations (neighbors, other families etc.)

75

Working abroad is a way to neglect the children by:

the lack of communication
not having a guindance or a person who will look
after them
not having a plan regarding future arrangements
in the educational and professional development
of the child
Another risk - taking the whole family abroad for
exploiting the children and the women.

The migration of parents

for work is a major factor
for the risk of negligence,
but not for abuse.
The incidence of negligence
cases is 52% for children
whose parents are abroad
(42 % in the protection
system).
Over 7% of the children
in the protection system
have at least one parent abroad, either before their entrance in the
system (5%), or while they were registered (2%).

Legislation- HG691/2015

The parent/parents/tutor who exercises parental authority or who provides

shelter for the child and is due to leave the country for work purposes,
has/have the duty to inform the local social work public service at least 40
days before leaving the country.

The notification will contain the designation of the person left

responsible for the childs care.

The local public service of social work is in charge of monitoring the

wellbeing of the children with one or both parents working abroad.

The perspective of the children left behind:

8,4 % of the children say that they were left alone

by their parents who left to work abroad;
24% say they rarely talk with they parents;
44% say they noteced a change
in the behaviour of others,
related to them;
(improved behavior towards them
either to protect them, or to recive gifts)
45,67% say they miss their parents a lot;
15,29% say they believe that the relationhips between their parents have
deprecated;
27,42% say their parents do not intend to permanently return; 42% do not
know if their parents will return;
31% say they wish to move abroad, of which 15% wish to leave for work.

Do you remember why you had to move to a residential center?*

- My mom always goes to work in Italy to raise money for a little house, for
flowers for grandma, for uncle, for us (Children Focus group, Bucharest)

- Because my parents went in other country. And I was left alone with my
brothersand we got to the center.
- It is fun to be home alone. I was like that. Yes. (Laughs) (Children Focus
group, Cluj-Napoca)

*World Bank Report

You, for example, why did you have to go to a social home? Do you
remember? *
- Yes ... but I do not want to tell, it is embarrassing

Nothing from what we tell here is embarrassing. Please, tell us.

- Because grandma was scolding me, mom left to work in England and
grandma was sending me out from home. (Children Focus group, ClujNapoca)
*World Bank Report

Parents

decide to leave to work abroad so sudden.

They receive a call, come because I found
something for you here and they leave their
children with other families. After a while, these
families complain that the parents do not send
money, they do not help in any way, and refuse to
raise the children anymore. That is the moment
when they come to us and tell us that the mother is
working abroad and she left her child with them.
(Interview with a social worker, Arad)
World Bank Report