Description
In Romania, 52% of abandoned children which are protected in residential system still live in classic structure orphanages, hence deriving: understaffed reported to the children’s number, insufficiently life skills valuing, uncovered social services, low chances for youngsters to be later integrated into society. Our objective is to increase welfare and social services quality for institutionalized children and youngsters alongside with a network of public and private institutions. The project is implemented in partnership with the General Direction of Social Assistance and Child Protection sector 1 Bucharest and is expected to strengthen life skills of institutionalized children and youth from the residential centers. This goal will be achieved through a complex of integrated services (life skills development, social services, qualifications on labor market, education against bullying etc.) provided within the Center “Independent Life” accredited by the Promoter during the implementation of the project. The main beneficiaries of the project will be 178 children and youth from public residential centers, most of them being Roma children.
Summary of project results
In 2015, over 52,000 children were in the child protection system in Romania, of which over 20,000 in residential care. Most of them were in large structure orphanages, characterised by a large number of children and insufficient human resources, often touched by the “burnout phenomenon”. Therefore, children do not have the necessary skills to face the challenges of life when they leave the institutions. The project aimed to make a deep and lasting change in the lives of children/youngsters deprived of family care, living in orphanages and social flats run by the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) Sector 1, Bucharest. During the project, 50 educators working directly with the children attended trainings and support groups (such as Balint groups), learning how to manage the emotional crises of the children. The Independent Life Centre was set up as a “laboratory” for developing life and discovering talents. 178 children (40% Roma) participated in systematic activities and acquired skills in areas like: self-management, health education, financial/time management, emotional skills etc. For a better integration on the labour market, the activities focused on before-employment key competences: 94 children accessed IT courses, English activities and financial responsibility and entrepreneurship workshops. The talents of the children were valued, some of the children being registered to sport clubs (6 children enrolled in the Dinamo Rugby Club), or they even attended hand-made fairs. Through over 140 educational workshops, 91 children increased their interest and motivation for studying school disciplines, acquiring applied educational skills. Contests and festivals were organised as well. Within the project, there were provided two essential services for future social integration of children in residential care, namely psychotherapy (100 children) and vocational counselling (94 teenagers). During an Occupational Tour, children visited several job environments such as hospitals, the Parliament, the airport, bakeries, theatres, universities etc. Also, 22 youngsters participated in qualification courses and 5 of them were even employed. As the project ended and a series of lessons were learned, a guide on using public-private partnerships in the field was developed. The guide “Case management in public-private partnership” was made public and shared with the public at the final conference.
Summary of bilateral results