Oxford Policy Management (OPM) and EveryChild Moldova, were selected to support the Republic of Moldova to host the conference on the progress registered in childcare systems of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, members of EU’s European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and to perform an assessment of the reform implemented in Moldova.
The purpose of the assessment is to identify the progress and set-backs of the reform, through an analysis of the existing policies, and to determine what are the attitudes of national, raion, and community-level stakeholders. This activity allows the Government of the Republic of Moldova, along with UNICEF country offices and other international and local stakeholders, to accelerate the childcare system reform.
The assessment was carried out in June - August 2009. It focuses on 'child care' in the sense of support provided to children who are in need of additional care because of their circumstances, and those without parental care, or at risk of being without parental care. It covers issues such as deinstitutionalisation and the provision of family substitute and family support services. There is an inevitable overlap between child care issues and other issues relating to child welfare such as education, health, justice and social assistance. The assessment therefore cover these aspects of child welfare where they have an impact on the children who are in need of, or at risk of needing, child care services (e.g. the treatment of children with disabilities, the education of children with special needs, or the care of children in the detention system).
The report forms part of Moldova's contribution to the subregional consultation on child protection which is being hosted by the Government of Moldova and UNICEF in November 2009, and which will bring together participants from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine as well as Moldova to discuss progress in the wider region.