Over 81,000 Romanian children had at least a parent working abroad end – September 2013, according to data from the Child Protection Direction, quoted by Mediafax newswire.

Around 60,000 families reported at least a family member working abroad at the time, while in 16,000 families, both parents were abroad for work. All in all, over 22,000 children had both parents working abroad. Most of them were left in the care of relatives, while around 1,000 were covered by social protection.

For some other 10,000 children who were in the care of a sole parent, the sole parent was also working abroad. Most of them – 9,200 were in the care of relatives, while 1,200 were covered by social protection, either in special centres or with maternal assistants.

By Romanian law, all parents who go to work abroad, either to search for jobs, or with a job already in place, have to notify the social assistance system, and let the authorities know who takes care of their children while they are away. This has to be done at least 40 days before leaving.

The law recently changed, as in the past, only those who left with a work contract in place had to comply with this regulation. Now it covers all parents, including those going to search for jobs, or those who end up working on the black market abroad. The law also requires for local authorities to organize social assistance services, to provide counselling for six months for those who become guardians of the children whose parents work abroad. The court can decide to delegate the parental responsibilities, while the parents are away, but for no longer than a year.

editor@romania-insider.com