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Authors
Mariana Trainea
SOCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAM IN ROMANIA
Included in the country partnership and summing 58.5 million dollars, borrowed by the Romanian Government from the World Bank to meet the commitments of the (JIM) Joint Inclusion Memorandum signed by the Romanian Government with the European Union in June 2005, the social inclusion program stipulates the improvement of living conditions and social inclusion for some of the most disadvantaged population groups, including Roma minority.
Project Description
The project aims to improve living conditions and social inclusion of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people from Romania and has four components.
1. Priority intervention program summing 11 million Euros, will be implemented by the RSDF (Romanian Social Development Fund) in collaboration with the National Agency for the Roma, which will award grants to fund small projects in poor Roma localities in order to improve living conditions and social inclusion of Roma population from about 100 (one hundred) poor localities by: (i) the financing of sub-projects of priority interventions granted awarded under competitive conditions, (ii) the promotion, information and education campaigns and by monitoring the evaluation activities, as well as by training the local authorities, the community groups and NGOs, (iii) by providing assistance for the development of the capacity at the level of the communities, through preparation, facilitation, evaluation and supervision of priority intervention sub-projects and by providing training and instruction in this regard, including training granted by RSDF, and (iv) by providing technical assistance to poor Roma communities to prepare their projects funded from EU funds.
2. Early education component summing 6.1 million Euros, will be implemented by the Ministry of Education and Research, in collaboration with the National Agency for the Roma and will increase access to preschool education for children aged between 3 and 6 years, including children from disadvantaged groups, as the Roma minority population.
Inclusion of Roma population in general policies and programs of the Ministry of Education and Research will be achieved by: (i) construction, expansion, rehabilitation and furnishing of preschool education infrastructure in communities with high percentage of Roma population, (ii) elaboration of an inclusion curriculum for preschool education, training and education of staff activating in preschool education system, creation and dissemination of teaching and learning materials for preschool education, and provision of technical assistance to entities that are qualified to apply for EU structural funds, (iii) promotion of integrated services and communitarian alternative solutions for preschool education, including development of consistent legislation on preschool education and training and counseling programs for parents, and (iv) monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as information, education and communication activities.
3. Social security component summing 28.6 million Euros will be implemented by the Ministry of Labor, Social Solidarity and Family in collaboration with NAPD (National Agency for People with Disabilities) and National Agency for the Roma and will focus on the following areas:
a) Program for people with disabilities
Increase of the quality of care in medical and social welfare institutions and increase of access of people with disabilities to community services by: (i) funding under competitive conditions of sub-projects for the disabled, (ii) providing training for professional staff who will implement new standards of care, (iii) developing a monitoring and evaluation system for NAPD and (iii) provision of employment counseling services.
b) Programs for young people at risk
Social inclusion of young people who are no longer under the care of the institutional child protection system after the age of 18 by: (i) financing of sub-projects for young people at risk awarded under competitive conditions (ii) monitoring and evaluation activities and development of specific methodologies, (iii) training of personnel acting in multifunctional centers that will be founded through sub – projects for young people at risk and of the staff of the Ministry of Labor, Social security and Family who will oversee the operation of these multifunctional centers; and (iv) conducting public information activities.
c) Program for the victims of domestic violence
Support granted to the Ministry of Labor, Social security and Family and NAPD to create integrated social services for the victims of domestic violence by: (i) financing sub-projects for the victims of domestic violence [awarded under competitive conditions], (ii) training of the personnel working in the centers dedicated to the victims of domestic violence and of NAPD staff, (iii) conducting of monitoring and evaluation activities, development of specific methodologies and creation of a specific information management system (MIS) regarding the victims and aggressors kept by NAPD, and (iv) public information activities.
4. With the component for the development of social inclusion of Roma population, summing 800,000 Euros, it will be granted assistance to the National Agency for the Roma assistance that will help, among others, to strengthen capacity to access EU funds.
The support granted to the National Agency for the Roma and its 8 (eight) regional offices for the coordination of the activities to increase the quality of design, monitoring and evaluation as well as for the identification, preparation and implementation of inclusion programs financed from EU funds and other sources by: (i) training of the National Agency for the Roma staff, of the NGOs staff of the Roma population, local authorities and the Roma community initiative groups, (ii) elaboration and implementation of a strategy of information, education and communication, and (iii) strengthening of monitoring and evaluation system.
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