CRC/C/ROM/CO/4 page 13 (a) Taking into account in all measures the views of the children, and providing them with child accessible complaint mechanisms in all parts of the country; (b) Monitoring the status of children placed in kinship homes, foster care, preadoptive homes and other care institutions, inter alia by regular visitations, with the help of a national integrated assessment and documentation system; (c) Developing care plans for each child in care which will be reviewed on a regular basis; (d) Strengthen the system for supervision and training of foster care professionals with the help of residential staff, municipality workers, and social workers specifically responsible for the protection of the rights of the children in care; (e) Revise the financial and in kind provisions for foster parents in order to encourage the intake of infants and small children into foster care. Adoption 53. The Committee notes the entry into force of Law No. 273/2004 on the legal regime of adoptions as well as No. 274/2004 on the establishment, organization and operation of the Romanian Adoption Office. However, the Committee notes with concern that under the current law the procedure required for declaring the child adoptable may be excessively lengthy contrary to the child’s best interests in cases where family reunification is not an option. In addition social workers and authorities responsible for adoption are often overburdened with cases. The Committee notes that inter-country adoptions have been limited to cases where a family relationship exists between the child and prospective parents. 54. The Committee recommends that the State party evaluate the implementation of adoption laws from the viewpoint of the best interests of the child, and continue allocating sufficient resources, both human and financial, in order to ensure a more adequate duration for all stages of the adoption process, at the national level. The Committee further recommends that the State party create positive public awareness of the area of adoption and encourages potential adoptive parents, emphasizing the needs and rights of children to a family. 55. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the new adoption laws and guarantees of legal procedures for inter-country adoption in conformity with the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, withdraw the existing moratorium as a barrier to the full implementation of article 21 of the Convention. Abuse and neglect 56. The Committee welcomes the efforts undertaken by the State party to address the problem of abuse and neglect of children. However, the Committee remains alarmed at the still high prevalence of abuse and neglect of children, including in the home, and at the lack of a comprehensive nationwide strategy in this regard. The Committee regrets that there is still no comprehensive system of recording and analysing crimes committed against children and that mechanisms of physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration for victims are not sufficiently provided for in all parts of the State party.

Select target paragraph3