Bulgaria has long faced problems with how it accommodates and handles children in its childcare system. It is a throwback to communist days and has remained largely untouched and ignored since then. Too many children are placed in institutional care and once there, the standard of care can vary hugely. What is indisputable is that the longer a child is in an institution, the worse that child’s economic and social future is. Although there has been a steady decline in the number of children in institutions, from over 12,500 in 2001 to around 7,000 in 2009, this decline is due in part to demographics (a declining national population) and partly because some children were moved to “special schools” that are not technically classed as institutional homes. Only a tiny proportion, less than 2 percent, are actually orphans. There are no official statistics of the number of children of Roma origin but according to observing NGOs they are about 80 percent of the children in institutional homes for non-disabled children.
Since taking office in July 2009, the present GERB government of Boyko Borissov has declared child care reform one of their social priorities. Ministers and senior officials have begun to open up and discuss the problem, willing to talk to NGOs and foreign donors, in particular with the European Commission.
In February 2010 the Council of Ministers adopted a Strategy for Child Care reform – Vision for Deinstitutionalisation, which is aimed at providing top level policies to reform child care services in Bulgaria. The ultimate goal is to close all child care institutions in the form they are now over the next 15 years. On 24 November 2010 an implementation plan was approved by the Council of Ministers. This will in turn open the door to significant EU funding and substantial reforms on the ground.
The European Commission has been actively working with the government. DG Regio and DG Social have developed a programme together to fund de-institutionalisation in Bulgaria – supported by the European Regional Development and Social Funds. An initial Euro 25m has been allocated to the programme; a further Euro 30-40m is likely to be available if targets under the action plan are met. Implementation of the first project, namely to close down all 24 homes for disabled children by 2013, has already started. Closure of the homes for children aged 0-3 is to follow shortly.
There is increasing recognition that the real aim of de-institutionalisation is not to shut down institutions for the sake of it, but to do so only when alternative care services have been developed which open up opportunities for children and families, and promote social inclusion. This involves a mix of policy responses: reintegration with family, adoption, foster care, and small group homes, coupled with flanking measures like improved parental education, better education opportunities, and more child friendly application of the law by district courts in custody cases. Public awareness of the issue has improved with the media now actively engaged in the public debate.
The UK role
The UK can with some justification claim to have played a significant behind the scenes role in delivering this change. In particular, for the past 18 months the Northern Ireland Cooperation Office (NI—CO) has been running an EU Twinning Project on Child care reform in Bulgaria, led by Paul Martin, former Director of Social Services in Northern Ireland. This project – which formally closed in October this year - has been pivotal in guiding the government’s reform programme.
We should also pay tribute to the UK NGO community which have been tireless in their advocacy and work for change. Particularly influential have been the larger NGOs like ARK, Hope and Homes for Children, the Cedar Foundation, and Lumos, which have engaged at the policy level, as well as providing inspiring examples of best practice on the ground. This Embassy has played an important role in facilitating dialogue between the NGOs and the government, and harnessing NGO energy in a direction that goes with the grain of planned government reforms. Almost all NGOs and experts confirm that the whole attitude of the government and institutions has changed and there is a much more enthusiastic, focused and structured approach to child care reform. NGOs are no longer regarded with suspicion and are properly involved in many of the discussions on reform programmes.
Prospects
These reforms will require sustained implementation and political will over a period of many years and several governments. Obviously there is a risk that this won’t happen. But the initial signs are positive. The fact that these reforms are being carried out in the teeth of the economic crisis, with severe pressure on government finances is an indicator of their importance. Provided that the strategy is right (which it now is) and is implemented with vigour (which remains to be seen) EU and other donor funding will continue to flow in support.
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