Families certified to adopt will be able to check the status of their case and complain of problems
Families certified to adopt will be able to check the status of their case and complain of problems
Aurelia Alexa - Mediafax
Families certified to adopt a child will be able to check at any stage of an application and their file and be able to make referrals, complaints or suggestions, thanks to a system that will be developed through a project financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption (ANPDC) released on Friday, the "Information System for Romanian Office for Adoptions - OR @", whose implementation was taken over from the former Romanian Office for Adoptions, after its dissolution.
President of the NAPCR, Gabriela Coman, explained that the integrated system would assist citizens wishing to adopt a child, and the child protection specialists from local and central level.
Basically, the software allows online access to information on the adoption procedure, the number of children declared adoptable, and the history of each child, keeping privacy.
"Everyone who wants to adopt will be able to electronically access information about the process, information on the law, information abou the system og adopted children, certainly not nominal information, but we want prospective parents to know about which children can be adopted, there are characteristics that ages them so that once the DGs will address the welfare and protection of children they want to adopt, they can be informed and know how to build expectations about what will happen to their request for adoption, "said President ANPDC.
Coman said that at present, this information can be obtained, in part, through the departments of the General Department for Child Protection (Child Protection) within which family resides, but the information is not as complete as those who are certified to adopt would like.
"Certainly, they receive information from DGASPC asked before starting the procedure, are helped during investigations made at home, but not so complex information. However, we believe, giving information about the children, they will get another image, plus it will be very fast: they do not have to come to us, do not have to look for our website some information and website direction other information. We do not know how to build this technically, we will see if it will turn into a separate site. We will see this when we have selected the contractor, "said President ANPDC.
Gabriela Coman added that a few years ago there was a computerized system that provided some of the information about the child, but it is not used by all counties. The new system would monitor every child, from the moment it enters the system of special protection up to when it will eventually be declared adoptable, unless it is reintegrated into its family. The system will also provide post-adoption monitoring.
Another advantage would be that families will be able to check online at any time, at what stage their file is.
'The emotional state and family expectations can be exacerbated if there is no information, and often the family does not have this information or can get, but it is hard. What I want: that at every stage, the person must have in any time information about the location, status and stage of the application process. (...) the integrated system is also about bringing the courts, to the extent that we can do this while preserving the confidentiality of data and persons, the population records, because of the difficulties the Departments face when searching for the identity of the child's biological family, which for the child means actually waiting for months or years, "said Gabriela Coman.
The new software should provide a section of reports and complaints online, which can be made to the family courts or child protection departments.
The official explained that families can claim lack of information or lack of them, how they are addressed and dealt with when they are making social inquiry, how are questions to ascertain whether they are fit to adopt, questions is natural to see the parent's ability to adopt, but sometimes it may seem unnatural family.
"It could be asked in the lack of speedy trial to the court file or could even send us suggestions, because there are parents who have suggested things. Directions I expect to be able to discern certain impediments to the adoption and there may be instances that tell us they have not received complete information on file or not sufficiently substantiated, "said President ANPDC.
The project has an implementation period of 18 months and a total budget of 28,208,691, 30 lei [almost 7 million euro] and the integrated system could become operational next summer.