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.