Two out of five (39%) of Romanian parents who work abroad will not return home for the winter holidays, according to a study carried out by Save the Children Romania among the beneficiaries of the program dedicated to children whose parents have left the country. The same source said 46% of parents would spend Christmas in the country with their children.

According to the latest official statistics, 73,868 children with one or both parents working abroad are registered in the records of the public social assistance services. Of these, 21,276 have both parents abroad or come from families where the sole supporting parent is abroad.

The absence of parents or a legal representative can limit children's access to health, education and social benefits.

An information campaign regarding the legislative changes adopted in 2022 was launched last week with the aim of facilitating the procedure of temporary delegation of parental authority. Save the Children Romania runs the campaign in partnership with the Ministry of the Family and the National Authority for Child Protection.

"In the absence of their parents, many children left in the care of relatives did not have access to health or education services and even lived in inappropriate conditions. This legislative change was essential. It obliges those who take on raising children to do it legally and children to benefit from all the rights they have: access to education, health services, and care appropriate for each age. For this objective, which I consider extremely important, I have established a special department at the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities that will deal with the problems of children with parents working abroad," said Gabriela Firea, minister of the family.

In her turn, Gabriela Alexandrescu, Executive President of Save the Children Romania, explained: "Already a chronic phenomenon in Romania, children whose parents work in other countries find themselves in a vulnerable situation, when both parents are away, without having been delegated parental authority. Thus, in addition to the trauma caused by the parent's absence, these children face borderline situations, which may jeopardize their access to education and social services."

According to one of the legislative changes, parents already working abroad can temporarily delegate parental authority. Also, parents will be able to delegate legal representatives from among people they are not related to.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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