Protection of children with parents working abroad

INFORM

 In accordance with the provisions of Article 104 of Law No 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, republished, as amended:

1. The parent who exercises parental authority alone or with whom the child resides, and who intends to go abroad to work, must notify this intention to the Social Welfare Department where the child is domiciled at least 40 days before leaving the country.
2. The law provides for a penalty (fine of 500-1000 lei) for parents in case of failure to notify the Social Welfare Directorate of Targu Mures of the departure to work abroad.
3. The notification must contain the name of the person who will take care of the child during the absence of the parents or the guardian, as the case may be.
4. Confirmation of the person to whom the child will remain in care is made by the guardianship court, in accordance with the legal provisions in force. After receiving the decision of delegation of parental authority, the parent or the person in whose care the child is, will submit a copy of it to the Social Welfare Department of Targu Mures.
5. These provisions apply to the guardian as well as to both parents who are going to work in another State.
6. The person designated to take care of the child must be part of the extended family, at least 18 years old, and must meet the material conditions and moral guarantees necessary for raising and caring for a child.
7. According to Article 2 para. (1) and par. (2) of Annex 1 to GD no. 691/2015: "Public social assistance service (in this case the Social Assistance Department of Targu Mures) requests annually, in the last quarter of the year, data and information on children in the following situations from the schools operating in their administrative-territorial area:

• Children with both parents abroad;
• Children with the sole supporting parent abroad;
• Children with one parent abroad;
• Children returning to the country after a period of residence abroad with their parents of more than one year.

8. Schools are required to submit a list of children in the above situations within 15 calendar days of the request. The list shall include the surname and forename of the child, the surname and forename of the parents or, where applicable, of the parent and the home address of the child.
9. After receiving the data, the Social Welfare Department of Targu Mures, through the staff of the Child and Family Protection Office, is obliged to go to the address where the children are cared for and check whether the provisions of Articles 104-105 of Law no. 272/2004 republished, on the protection and promotion of children's rights are respected.
10. On the occasion of the visit to the minor's home, the representative of the Târgu Mureș Social Assistance Department will fill in the risk identification sheet and will draw up the initial assessment report.
11. If the initial assessment report shows that the child is at risk, a service plan will be drawn up to prevent the child from being separated from his/her family.

Risk situation: any situation, action or inaction that affects the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development in the family or community for a period of time.

• In case of a decrease in school performance, the teacher/head teacher is obliged to ask for the support of the school counsellor and to notify in writing the representative of the public social assistance service, in this case the Social Assistance Department of Targu Mures.
• If, following the assessment, it is found that there is a suspicion that the child's emotional state is affected, the representative of the public social assistance service shall request the support of a psychologist in order to include the child in a psychological counselling programme. If there is no psychologist at local level, the representative of the public social assistance service requests the support of the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Mures in order to facilitate access to specialist services.
• If the health of a child whose parents are working abroad deteriorates, the representative of the public social welfare service must inform the family doctor in writing and ask for his or her assistance in checking the child's health.
• In the event that it is found that the child with parents working abroad is affiliated to a group of friends with criminal behaviour, the representative of the public social assistance service is obliged to request in writing the support of the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Mures, in order to provide specialized services, while informing the school where the child is enrolled and the police.
• If the representative of the public social assistance service comes into contact with a child and has suspicions of a possible case of abuse, neglect or ill-treatment, he/she is obliged to immediately notify the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Mures in order to initiate the procedures provided by law in such cases.
• If it is found that there is no person designated by the decision of delegation of parental authority to take care of the child, the Social Assistance Directorate of Târgu Mureș is obliged to inform in writing the person in whose care the child is, about the provisions of art. 16 para. (2) of Law no. 272/2004, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, respectively: "A person who takes a child into temporary care or protection, pending the establishment of a protection measure in accordance with the law, shall be obliged to maintain the child and, within 48 hours, to notify the local public administration authority in whose territorial area he has his registered office or place of residence.". In this case, the child will be monitored every 3 months.

12. If there is a person designated by the decision of delegation of parental authority to take care of the child's upbringing and care, the Social Assistance Department of Targu Mures is obliged to visit the home of the persons designated by the court every two months during the first 6 months after receiving the copy of the decision of delegation of parental authority, in order to inform and advise them on their responsibility for the upbringing and care of the child. Thereafter visits will be carried out every six months.

Obligations of the person who is responsible for the upbringing and care of the child with parent(s) working abroad:

• To provide all the conditions for the normal care and upbringing of the child;
• To provide the Social Welfare Department of Târgu Mureș with all the data and information they have on the address where parents can be contacted abroad and to prove that they are in contact with them;
• Participate in counselling and information events/programmes organised by the Social Assistance Department of Targu Mures;
• Notify any changes that may occur in relation to the child in their care and upbringing with regard to home address, educational establishment, family doctor, parents' address, telephone numbers, etc.
• In case they find problems with the minor's school situation, harmful entourage, medical condition or other negative aspects, they should ask for support from the representatives of the Târgu Mureș Social Assistance Department, the school counsellor, the psychologist, the family doctor, or any other local public authority/institution.

13. According to the provisions of Art. 4 lit. b and lit. c of Annex 1 to H.G. no. 691/2015 "In order to support families for the upbringing and care of children with parents working abroad, the public social assistance service (in this case the Social Assistance Department of Targu Mures) shall perform the following tasks":

• It organises parenting education programmes for the parent who is responsible for the upbringing and care of the child after the other parent has gone abroad to work, and for those who are responsible for the upbringing and care of children whose parents have gone abroad to work, as well as for those who have returned to the country after a period of more than one year abroad with their parents;
• Organise quarterly meetings or whenever necessary with the carers and the parent who is looking after the child after the second parent has left to work abroad.

14. In this regard, the Social Welfare Department of Targu Mures in collaboration with the Save the Children Organization, Targu Mures branch organizes quarterly meetings / counseling / information events, parenting education programs, for support persons / parents who are responsible for raising and caring for the child after the other parent has left to work abroad, which can target:

• The active role of support persons in the child's education and development;
• The rights and obligations of parents wishing to go abroad to work, of support persons and the support that can be given to them;
• The need to take steps regarding the decision to delegate parental authority and its benefits;
• The importance of parents' presence in children's lives, both mothers and fathers, each having their own role in the growth, development and education of minors;
• Prevention of conflict situations of the support person in the relationship with the minor;
• The importance of parents' presence in children's lives, both mothers and fathers, each having their own role in the growth, development and education of minors;
• Ways to identify and resolve conflicts or problems that may arise in the child's development, regardless of age;
• The importance of parents in a child's life;
• Collaboration of the support person with children and society;
• Highlighting conflicts that arise between the child and the support person and how cooperation is achieved;
• Problems encountered by support persons.

Required documents

Indicative list of documents to be included in the file submitted to the court in order to nominate the person who will provide for the upbringing and care of the child during the absence of the parents from the country and to obtain the decision of delegation of parental authority

• Parent(s) documents: copy of identity and civil status documents (marriage certificate);
• Proof that the parent concerned exercises parental authority alone (copy of final and irrevocable divorce decree, copy of death certificate of the other parent), if applicable;
• Other documents (if any): work contract, work permit stating where the parent(s) will go and for how long, etc.;
• Civil status documents of the child: copy of birth certificate/identity card, medical certificate on the child's health;
• Documents for the person in whose care the child will remain: copy of identity card, criminal record, proof of income (employee's certificate, pension statement, etc.), proof of living space, medical certificate certifying that the child is clinically healthy, an affidavit that he/she has/has no other dependent children;
• Social survey;
• Other supporting documents that may describe the family or child's situation, depending on the situation or at the request of the court.