Workshop 1.6 - Deutscher Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge

The present situation of poverty, the high vulnerability of more citizens to the actual socio-economical conditions determined the
Romanian government to adopt and implement a new set of legislative measures.
In the year 2000, the minimum income guaranteed (MIG) was introduced as a social aid, granted to families or persons without any or
with low income, being paid from the state and local budget. The guaranteed minimum income is delivered by the local councils and
the amount represents the difference between the MIG levels stipulated by law in accordance with the family structure and the monthly
net income of the recipients.
During January–October 2002 about 570,000 families and single persons, representing 7.3 % of the total number of families in Romania,
received the minimum income guaranteed, for which the budgetary effort was about 71 millions Euro.
A new strategy of decentralization was promoted by the Romanian government starting in 2001, when the law regarding the national
system of social assistance came into force.
An important element of the reform of the national system of social assistance is to increase the responsibility of local councils in order
to identify the real community problems and to elaborate effective strategies in the field of social protection for children, families,
elderly, disabled people, as well as any person in need.
The law is designed as a framework and establishes the principles and concepts of social assistance, the main forms of social assistance,
social benefits, social services and the new administrative structure of the financial support.
The implementation of this law represents a real challenge because of the complexity of the system which means the necessity to
elaborate new legislative regulations regarding the development of a network of social services all over the country, creating quality
standards, establishing the criteria for the organization of social services and the accreditation of institutions for social assistance.
Another important normative act represents the law on preventing and fighting social marginalization, one of the recent initiative of the
Romanian government in order to accomplish the strategic objective of the National Action Plan for Combating the Poverty and
Promoting Social Inclusion. The law on preventing and fighting social marginalization is promoting concrete measures regarding the
access to employment, housing, training, education, culture, social and medical assistance for people being in a difficult socio-economical
situation, especially young people.
In order to respond to the real needs of the citizens, the Romanian government in August 2002 approved the objectives of the Social
Program for 2002–2003.
The main provisions of this Social Program are the increasing of the state allowance amount for children, the minimum income
guaranteed, minimum wages and pensions.
For the coherence of the programs concerning the fight against poverty, carried out by the central and local administration, civil society
institutions, the Governmental Commission for Poverty, Prevention and Social Inclusion Promotion (CASPIS) was founded. After four
years work, the Romanian government will decide on the basis of a final Report regarding the future directions of action.
CASPIS is composed by representatives from ministries and governmental agencies, representatives of the European Commission in
Romania, World Bank, PNUD, UNICEF, representatives of trade unions and representatives of local authorities, experts from the
academic field, as well as representatives of civil society.
The most important activity of CASPIS is to approve and monitor the National Plan of Poverty Prevention and Social Inclusion
Promotion which represents an important instrument for the integration process.
The National Plan for Poverty Prevention and Social Inclusion Promoting includes objectives on short term focused on solving urgent
problems during the period 2003-2004 and medium term objectives to be solved until 2012. Part of the strategic objectives of the plan
are focused on:
• assuring emergency houses for homeless;
• liquidation of the street children phenomenon;
• finalizing the reform of prevention and treatment system of juvenile delinquency;
• establishing, at national and local level, a system of support for youngsters who leave the social protection institutions for abandoned
children.
The government also decided on the establishment of a commission in each county, which is responsible for the elaboration of the
countys “Plan for combating poverty”.
The efforts of the Romanian state to build a coherent and effective system of social assistance (beginning with education in social work)
during 12 years, according to the socio-economic situation of the country, having also in view the European principles and the standards,
were enormous. The reform of the system will continue, knowing well that the conditions, which have to be fulfilled in order to
find better ways to accomplish the present and the future challenges of a society in full process of transition, are complex and difficult.
2. Examples of involvement and participation
The involvement and participation of people in social life has to be recognized and encouraged, in order to find solutions to solve the
concrete problems of different vulnerable social groups. Therefore, the state itself has decided to support individuals, groups and
communities to have more control over their lives, to have a greater voice in institutions or in community, to exercise the ability of
choosing, to gain power in order to influence the decisions concerning the quality of their own life.
In the year 2000, the National Council of Elderly Persons was set up as an autonomous and consultative organ. The institutionalization
of social dialogue between public authorities and elderly persons has a main objective in order to protect the rights of this category of
population.
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