Webinar #16: Making an Investment Case for Family Care - Recent Experience from Moldova

Background:
 

The Republic of Moldova has been on a fifteen-year journey of moving from a social welfare system based on residential care for children to one centered around family care. There has been a dramatic reduction in the number of children in residential care, from some 17,000 before 2000 to less than 700 today. Concurrently, progress has been made in developing new laws, policies, and standards to promote family care, including the establishment of models of alternative family care. A minimum package of care services (MPS) has been established, by law, with a focus on supporting families and preventing separation and violence. However, there are many systemic areas that are largely undeveloped, and the current humanitarian crisis in the country has made reform of Moldova’s care system an urgent priority. Resources for strengthening the system must be sought domestically and externally to secure the future of Moldova’s children.

Informed by recent evidence highlighting the risks that contribute to family separation—and the services that can address the risks, budget reviews and financial assessments that highlighted the cost effectiveness of community and family-based services compared to residential care, and responding to the opportunities created by Moldova’s EU accession efforts, UNICEF, Changing the Way We Care Initiative (CTWWC), and leading civil society organizations from Moldova combined efforts to make an investment case for family care.

This webinar provided a detailed overview of recent efforts and investment case documents produced by care reform stakeholders in Moldova to support the government and collective advocacy for increased investments in a more child-centered social welfare system in Moldova, including:

• Investing in Family Care for Moldova’s Future: the Case for Meeting Moldova’s Human Capital Needs
• Family-type Care vs Residential Care Costs: An analysis of the recent developments in government expenditure and the costs per child in family-type care and residential care
• Financial assessments of six large scale residential institutions, carried out by CTWWC and its partners with the objective of informing political decisions on the future of the six institutions, including their transformation/reorganization plans.

Related Content:

• Conference Report on 2023 Financing for Better Care Conference
• Conference Video: Financing for Better Care: Moldova 2023
• Public Expenditure and Children’s Care: Guidance Note
• Guidance on Costing Child Protection Policies and Advocating for Increased Investment 
• Review of the Use of Public Finance for Children in Child Protection

 Moderator:

Speakers:
 

This is the 16th webinar as part of the Transforming Children's Care Collaborative Webinar Series.