The Government has approved the "Implementation of the Child Guarantee"

Children are the future of a nation. Starting from this premise, any effort to ensure that they grow and prepare themselves in optimal conditions is justified. The Government has approved the Memorandum regarding the National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Child Guarantee. The measures proposed in the "Child Guarantee" will be correlated with those on which the "National Strategy for Children 2023-2027" was built, adopted by the Executive on October 12th, as announced by the Ministry of Family. The Child Guarantee was established by the Council of the European Union through Recommendation no. 1004/2021, and its objective is to prevent and combat social exclusion by ensuring access to essential services for children in difficulty. According to the Ministry of Family, "the Government has approved the Memorandum on the National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Child Guarantee. The measures proposed in the "Child Guarantee' will be correlated with those on which the "National Strategy for Children 2023-2027' was built, adopted on October 12th by the Executive. The Child Guarantee was established by the Council of the European Union through Recommendation no. 1004/2021. The recommendation's objective is to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access to essential services for children in difficulty, thereby supporting their rights by combating poverty and promoting equal opportunities." According to the ministry, "the opportunity for such a document, applicable at the level of all EU member states, arose from the general findings that in most member states, the child poverty rate remains high." The Ministry of Family added, "The five key services that must be guaranteed are: healthy nutrition, free medical care, free education, free early education and care, and adequate housing conditions. The national action plan, prepared by Romania as part of its obligations to transpose the provisions of the Recommendation on the establishment of the Child Guarantee, reflects the measures and objectives already included in the new national strategy for the protection and promotion of children's rights. (...) The decrease in the number of children affected by poverty and social exclusion by at least 500,000 children compared to the 2021 reference value contributes to the European goal of reducing the number of children affected by this multi-dimensional phenomenon by 5 million, and the impact of social protection on reducing child poverty is 30%, compared to 45% in 2020. Families with children in difficulty are a priority for social housing and are eligible for housing support, including support for renting a home when social housing is not available. Children affected by poverty receive appropriate food support tailored to their nutritional needs. Three out of four children temporarily or permanently separated from their families are placed in family-type services. Avoidable mortality is reduced by 20% compared to the 2021 level for children of all ages. The enrolment rate in early education is at least 22% for the age group of 0-3 years and at least 95% for the age group of 4-6 years." The Ministry of Family claims that national policy documents that concern children's rights are developed in formats accessible to children.