ROMANIAN ACADEMY “COSTIN C. KIRIȚESCU” NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR QUALITY OF LIFE RAPID ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES, WITH A FOCUS ON THE VULNERABLE ONES, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN ROMANIA PHASE I Round 3 ©UNICEF / Cybermedia Bucharest June 2020 Coordinators for the UNICEF Country Office in Romania Gabriel Vockel, Deputy Representative Viorica Ştefănescu, Child Rights Systems Monitoring Specialist External Research Team: Claudia Petrescu, Team Leader, Research Institute for Quality of Life Alexandra Deliu, author, Research Institute for Quality of Life Flavius Mihalache, author, Research Institute for Quality of Life Adriana Neguț, author, Research Institute for Quality of Life Laura Tufă, author, Research Institute for Quality of Life Data collection was conducted by: The staff of the UNICEF Country Office in Romania Step-by-Step Centre for Education and Professional Development Bianca Gheorghiu Emil Ionescu Daniela Florescu Mihaela Kerekes Gabriela Albu Mariana Boicu Cristiana Boca Centre for Health Policies and Services Mirela Mustață Ileana Costache Corina Cazaciuc Adrian Mangu Letiția Mihail Terre des hommes Romania Marian Damoc Marius Cernușcă Mihai Enache United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Carolina Marin Simina-Ana Guga Jesuit Refugee Service Romania (JRS Romania) Irene Teodor Mădălina Popa Romanian National Council for Refugees Miruna Terciu Ana Cojocaru Star of Hope Romania Carmen Topală Denisia Avasiloai Loredana Gherman Gabriela Răducanu 2 /73 Acknowledgements This Rapid Assessment has been undertaken as a partnership between the UNICEF Country Office in Romania, the Step-by-Step Centre for Education and Professional Development, Terre des hommes Romania, the Centre for Health Policies and Services, the Council of Institutionalised Youth, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jesuit Refugee Service Romania (JRS Romania), the National Romanian Council for Refugees and Star of Hope Romania. Special appreciation is due to the World Bank and the World Health Organisation for having provided technical input to the concept note as well as to the initial data collection tool. We would like to thank the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions, and in particular Ms Mădălina Turza, President, and Ms Elena Tudor, Director, for the comments they provided on the draft reports for the three rounds of the Rapid Assessment and on the data collection tool. 3 /73 CONTENTS Abbreviations..................................................................................................................................................... 6 List of figures ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 List of tables ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Executive summary............................................................................................................................................ 9 Context ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 Public policy context during the COVID-19 pandemic ................................................................................ 13 Socio-economic context .............................................................................................................................. 15 Data on COVID-19 pandemic incidence in Romania ............................................................................... 16 Main public policies in healthcare, social protection and education .......................................................... 18 Healthcare ............................................................................................................................................... 18 Social protection ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Social services .......................................................................................................................................... 20 Education ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Goal and objectives of the Rapid Assessment ................................................................................................. 24 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Methodological limitations of the Rapid Assessment ............................................................................. 27 Findings of the Rapid Assessment – Round 3 .................................................................................................. 28 Impacted vulnerable groups ........................................................................................................................ 28 Main problems at community level ............................................................................................................ 30 Utilities and access to basic products .......................................................................................................... 31 Health services............................................................................................................................................. 32 Health services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic .............................................................................. 32 Access barriers to health services ........................................................................................................... 35 Measures for improving access to health services .................................................................................. 36 Educational services .................................................................................................................................... 37 4 /73 Educational services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ..................................................................... 37 Access barriers to educational services ................................................................................................... 39 Measures for improving access to educational services ......................................................................... 40 Social services .............................................................................................................................................. 41 Social services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ............................................................................... 41 Access barriers to social services ............................................................................................................. 46 Measures for improving access to social services ................................................................................... 47 Services for children separated from their parents (whose parents have fallen ill or are hospitalised) .... 49 Additional measures .................................................................................................................................... 50 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 51 Impacted vulnerable groups .................................................................................................................... 51 Main problems at community level......................................................................................................... 52 Utilities and access to basic products ...................................................................................................... 52 Health services ......................................................................................................................................... 52 Educational services ................................................................................................................................ 53 Social services .......................................................................................................................................... 53 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................... 54 Health services............................................................................................................................................. 54 Educational services .................................................................................................................................... 55 Social services .............................................................................................................................................. 56 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 57 Annexes ..........................................................................................................................................................