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National Conference of professionals and specialists involved in the delivery of foster care service

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Over 110 foster care-givers, 60 specialists in child and family protection from the entire country met on 19th November in Chisinau at a national conference of professionals and specialists involved in the delivery of foster care service in the Republic of Moldova. The event was organized by the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, in collaboration with Partnerships for Every Child.

Results achieved and lessons learned during one and half year of respite foster care were shared during the conference, and proposed for national replication. Respite foster care is currently provided in two regions of the country: Orhei raion and Chisinau municipality. The project is implemented by Partnerships for Every Child in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Moldova, with the financial support of the European Union. During the project, families of 21 children with disabilities have been provided respite foster care.


Dirk Schuebel, Ambassador, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova:
“This project is an important achievement for the Republic of Moldova”.

This project that makes part of the European Instrument for the Development for Human Rights was selected for the Republic of Moldova and can serve a very good example for the country. I am very satisfied with the collaboration within this project. Partnerships for Every Child and the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family marked a success and a worth of congratulations.

Valentina Buliga, Minister of Labor, Social Protection, and Family:
”I am sure we will be able to replicate this service in the whole country.”

We hope that this project replicates in the whole country, because we have about 14 000 children with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova. Life of these children’s families is not easy, and this is why the service is worth to be fully supported by the local public authorities.

Stela Grigoraș, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Every Child:
”Authorities should involve more actively”

Now the country has both methodological support and legal basis for this service. What we need in present is willingness of local public authorities to diversify types of placement in foster care.
We believe that this is extremely good service for children with disabilities and their families.


35 children in respite foster care and 10 children – members of Advisory Boards of Children from Calarasi, Falesti, and Ungheni, participated at the Conference. The children talked during one day about positive aspects of the service, about the most difficult problems they face in foster families. At the end of the event they came up with a number of suggestions for the service improvement, that were presented to the decision-makers, specialists, foster care-givers. The suggestions included:

  • To follow the procedures of child’s placement into the service, to inform the children about the exact reason of their placement, term of placement, what will happen to them after
  • To increase salaries of foster care-givers, payments for the child’s support, because their needs are big and expenses much exceed the amount they are given.
  • To involve more actively into trainings, conferences, to be given opportunity to express their views, actively participate in community life.
  • The society should be informed about children in difficulty, more fostering families should be recruited, to give warmth and love to life-beaten children.

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