Description
The project contributes to the development of the functioning context for the NGOs which are active in the field of alternative care for children. Children deprived of parental care who are under the responsibility of NGOs are often ignored by the public authorities immediately after their placement in special care. The project will be implemented in partnership with FONPC and with SOS Children’s Villages Norway. The project also has an organizational capacity building component aimed to support SOS Romania in strengthening its capacity in the field of volunteering. The target group is represented by the NGOs which are active in child protection field. Among these the project’s beneficiaries are the NGOs providing specialized services to children. Projects beneficiaries are also the local and central authorities. For the activity of organizational capacity level there will be 12 SOS Romania co-workers who will directly benefit from the project.
Summary of project results
The project contributes to the improvement of the framework in which NGOs active in the field of alternative care for children work. It started from the premise that there is a potential for increased involvement of NGOs, which can only be accomplished through an effective partnership with public authorities, by developing a clear mechanism for cooperation and by the establishment of a right funding mechanism. All these issues were addressed by the project and were integrated in a position paper discussed and agreed with local and central authorities as well as with NGOs (48 public authorities and 68 NGOs). The project was implemented in partnership with 2 organisations: NGO’s Federation For Child - FONPC, which played an important role in the implementation of all project activities, and SOS Norway, which provided good governance know-how and relevant materials. The project started with an analysis on the role of NGOs in alternative care for children; the analysis was used for organising 8 regional meetings in each of the 8 development regions of Romania. A working group was organised at the level of the National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption, with the participation of 22 professionals both from public authorities and NGOs. The conclusions derived from these actions resulted in a position document, which was sent for feedback to local and central authorities as well as to NGOs. The relationships between the public authorities and NGOs, but also the capacity in working with volunteers were strengthened. The project had a component of organisational development which aimed to increase the promoter’s capacity in attracting and managing volunteers. The promoter now has 12 trained professionals on volunteers' management, a strategy for 2016 – 2020 and an action plan which will continue to be implemented after the project ends.
Summary of bilateral results
The cooperation with SOS Children’s Villages Norway helped the promoter gain information on a different social system: the Norwegian one. Because the Romanian organisation was aware of the fact that the two countries have significant differences in approaching social services, they wanted to use this opportunity to open a discussion on this topic with another member association of SOS Children’s Villages International. Thus, the project helped the promoter benefit from the experience of the Norwegian partner as social services provider. Therefore, the promoter found out about the role of Norwegian NGOs in alternative care of children, the financing mechanism for the services provided to children and the monitoring mechanism. Thanks to the Norwegian expert who participated as a speaker at the closing event, the Romanian participants had the opportunity to ask questions about the development of the partnership between NGOs and public authorities in Norway. Mrs. Sissel Aarak presented the constant concern of the NGOs to provide quality services for children and the role of the public authorities in financing these services. She proposed a change into the Romanian paradigm when advocating for child’s rights so that the NGOs advocating for financing the services provided to children in alternative care would not ask directly for money, but present the child’s needs for development, the achievements, the long term commitment and the social return on investment.