Romanians who turn 65 can no longer be foster carers. Moreover, they will only be able to take care of two children at most. They are two of the most important novelties that the maternal assistant law brings, explained by Rareș Achiriloaie, the president of the Child Protection Authority.
A maternal assistant has a maximum of two children. There is only one exception. Photo source: archive
The president of the ANPDCA stated in an interview for the Free Europe that the law of the maternal assistant has been changed in such a way that the children are protected as much as possible.
Specifically, according to the law, the maternal assistant will be able to work with children until the age of 65, after which age he will no longer receive the certificate. He is retiring, so to speak. “It was an attestation procedure that had not been changed for about 20 years and, like any law, it must be dynamic and organic and keep up with the actuality in the field. We came up with the respective changes starting from individual cases that we analyzed and from which we realized that there are several systematic elements that we should intervene at the level of primary legislation”, says Rareș Achilioaie. “I have had cases where there were a lot of children with one professional foster carer, although there was a certain age of the person concerned. We are trying to further increase the quality of the special protection system for children“, the official also said.
The average age of foster carers in Romania is 50 years
Currently, Romania has 11,079 foster carers, and of these approximately 1,600 are over 60 years old. The average age of foster carers is 50. “I considered that a maximum of 47 years – the difference between the child and the foster carer – is enough so that the child grows up with the foster carer until he reaches adulthood“, Rareș Achiriloaie also declared. “We had enough arguments and statistics, but also on the administrative line, to be able to promote this age of 47″.
The ANPDCA president believes that it is very difficult for a 75-year-old person, for example, to take care of two or three children, especially since they are generally of different ages. “ It is a challenge, especially since he has no other support at home,” says Rareș Achiriloaie.
“In this regard we are slightly flexible, in the sense that the child protection directorates can analyze and decide whether the person in question is eligible. For example, if it is in a commune, but there are medical services two km away, theoretically it would be eligible”also specified the president of the Authority for Child Protection.
How much money does a nanny make?
10,000 children in Romania are in the child protection system. They live in family-style apartments with foster carers. In addition to this protection system, Romania has 42 large centers which, however, will close this year. “And the children there will go to family-type apartments, under the supervision of an educator,” the official also specified. Currently, a maternal assistant earns 3,000 lei/month – net allowance for the period in which he has children in his care. For each child he takes care of, he receives another 1,400 lei net.
From foster carers, children can be given up for adoption. Currently, there are 7,000 children on the lists for adoption, of which 6,000 are “difficult to adopt” – that is, older – over 10 years old – or who have serious health problems. The number of adoptions per year has remained constant in recent years – 1,300-1,400. In 2023, 1,356 adoptions were completed.
What you need to know if you want to adopt a child
- To adopt a child, you must contact either the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection in whose administrative-territorial radius you have established your domicile or residence or to an authorized private organization (OPA). The list of authorized OPAs can be consulted on the ANPDCA website in the “National adoption” section https://copii.gov.ro/1/adoptie-nationala/
- Two people cannot adopt together, neither simultaneously nor successively, unless they are husband and wife. At the same time, a single person (unmarried) can adopt if he obtains the adopter’s certificate.
- In order to facilitate the adoption of adoptable children, the law provides for the existence of a database with the “public profile of adoptable children” accompanied by photos and information, which can be consulted by adopters. After consulting the public profile, adopters who are certified for adoption have the opportunity to decide whether they will continue the adoption procedure with a certain child.
Who does not have the right to adopt children in Romania
- persons who have been definitively convicted for a crime against the person or against the family, committed with intent, as well as for the crime of child pornography and crimes related to drug or precursor trafficking;
- the person/family whose child benefits from a special protection measure or who is deprived of parental rights;
- people who want to adopt on their own, whose spouses are mentally ill, have a mental disability or are in one of the previously mentioned situations;
- people who do not have full exercise capacity, as well as people with mental illnesses and mental disabilities;
- persons who did not obtain the certificate of person/family suitable for adoption.
The certified family/person who refuses 5 times to proceed to a first meeting with the children for whom they were selected and for whom the DGASPC specialists assessed that it meets their needs, must follow an information and counseling program. Until the completion of this program, the respective family/person is no longer included in other matching efforts with adoptable children, we learn from the website of the Ministry of the Family.
