Skateboarding behind the EU lorry—the experience of Romanian professionals struggling to cope with transition while assisting care leavers

Abstract

As a result of the fall of communism in 1989, the Romanian system of public care for children experienced massive shifts in its structure and ethos. One vulnerable area in any such system is the care leaving stage when young people can fall between the childcare and the adult protection systems. This article draws on a qualitative study that focused on the preparation and early outcomes for care leaving in Bucharest. This was undertaken between December 2002 and March 2004 by Anghel, a Romanian researcher reading for a PhD in England. The research aimed to explore the care leaving process through the views and experiences of the care leavers and the childcare professionals. The article briefly describes the structure and legislative base of the care leaving system in Romania, and discusses the political context created by the EU accession process. It then explores some of the themes emerging from the interviews with the professionals operating the system and discusses them within the overarching theme of transition within transitions: the transition of the young people within the context of transitions simultaneously being experienced by the professionals, the childcare system, and the entire society.

Ca rezultat al caderii comunismului in 1989, sistemul de stat de protectie a copilului a trecut prin transformari masive atat ca structura cat si ca filosofie. In orice sistem de protectie a copilului o zona vulnerabila este iesirea din ingrijire, moment in care tinerii pot ‘aluneca’ printre sistemul de protectie al copiilor si cel al adultilor. Acest articol este bazat pe un studiu calitativ al pregatirii si al consecintelor iesirii din ingrijire a tinerilor ocrotiti in centrele de plasament din Bucuresti. Studiul a fost efectuat in perioada decembrie 2002, martie 2004 de Anghel, doctorand roman in Marea Britanie. Cercetarea a urmarit sa exploreze procesul de iesire din institutii din prisma tinerilor care parasesc institutia si a specialistilor din domeniul protectiei copilului. Articolul descrie pe scurt baza structurala si legislativa a sistemului de iesire din ingrijire in Romania, si discuta contextul politic creat de procesul de integrare in UE. Articolul exploreaza apoi cateva teme rezultate din interviurile cu specialistii din sistem si le discuta in cadrul temei generale a tranzitiilor concentrice: tranzitia tinerilor in contextul tranzitiilor traversate simultan de specialisti, sistemul de protectie a copilului, si intreaga societate romaneasca.

Keywords:

• Care Leaving
• Views of Childcare Professionals
• Transition
• Romanian Childcare System
• EU Accession

Concepte cheie:

• Parasirea Ingrijirii
• Opiniile Specialistilor Romani
• Tranzitie
• Sistemul Roman de Protectie a Copilului
• Aderarea la Uniunea Europeana

The authors would like to thank Steve Rashid, Caroline Currer, and Dave Backwith for their support and advice during the writing of this article. Anghel would also like to thank the gatekeepers who made this study possible and the participants for their welcome, time and valuable contributions, as well as John Moffett and Vanda Florea for their invaluable and continuous support.