Social services

Care and nursing provided to residential care home beneficiaries are assessed according to the individual needs and personal circumstances of each beneficiary. Persons admitted to a home are assessed in terms of their physical and mental status, state of health and degree of independence, their communication capacity, family and social relationship situation, level of education, social-economic situation, special treatment and recovery/rehabilitation needs, educational, cultural and spiritual needs, potential risks, potential dependences (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.), and work capacity. The assessment made by the care home also relies on documents issued by specialised doctors and general practitioners, psychologists, physiotherapists, kineto-therapists, etc., assessment documents drawn up by specialised units under the comprehensive assessment and social surveys conducted prior to the beneficiary’s admission to the care home.

In Romania, social services may be thus classified, according to the category of beneficiary:

• social services intended for children and/or families,
• disabled persons,
• older persons,
• victims of domestic violence,
• homeless persons,
• persons with various addictions, including alcohol, drugs, other toxic substances, the internet, gambling, etc.,
• victims of human trafficking,
• persons in custody,
• persons sanctioned by a non-custodial educational order or sentence, who are under the supervision of the probation services,
• persons with mental health disorders,
• persons from isolated communities,
• long-term unemployed persons,
• support social services for beneficiaries’ accompanying persons.

Responsibility for developing, managing and providing social services is shared between the following:

• The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, alongside the authorities under or coordinated by it (e.g. ANPDCA, ANPD, ANPIS, ANES) – drafting of public policies and relevant programmes and strategies at national level, as well as assessment and monitoring of the quality of social services;
• local public administration authorities through the public welfare service – organisation, management and provision of social services. These duties may be outsourced to the non-governmental sector, religious establishments, and other natural and legal persons governed by public or private law, in accordance with the law.

Social services are financed from the local budget, contributions by the beneficiary and/or, where applicable, their family, the State budget and other sources.