Guardianship, custody service to be improved in Moldova

Chisinau, 22 February /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet of ministers today approved a framework regulation on the establishment of the custody and ensuring the organization and work of the guardianship service, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.  

The document will exclude any normative gap in the process of establishing custody and of child’s placement in the guardianship service. At the same time, the document will facilitate the work of the territorial and local social assistance structures in the assessment, assistance and protection of children separated from parents.   

The regulation describes the way the guardianship service is organized and works, the procedure and stages of placing the child in the family of the tutor/trustee, including the full list of acts needed. Also, the regulation sees the way complaints are submitted and considered, as well as the procedure of dismissing the tutor/trustee and the ceasing of the child’s placement in service.       

At the same time, the document approved regulates the way and stages for establishing custody for children, whose legal representatives are temporarily in another settlement from Moldova or abroad and for health reasons, they cannot fulfill their obligations as to the bringing up, taking care and education of the child.    

„Through this project, the ministry is set to regulate the process of establishing the custody and the placement of the child in the guardianship service, in order to ensure an enhanced level of social protection of children separated from parents,’’ Labour and Social Protection Minister Alexei Buzu said.      

Statistics data shows that, in early 2022, over 32,537 children separated from parents were in the records of the guardianship authorities, of whom 28,015 children whose legal representatives/single legal representative is temporarily in another settlement of Moldova or from abroad; in case of 10,775 children, custody was established as temporary protection form.        

Photo: Government