The Politics of Child Protection in Romania

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Bainham
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Older Children ◽  
The West ◽  
Single Issue ◽  
Substantive Content ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Obligations

AbstractThis paper challenges criticism of Romania's new child protection and adoption legislation, passed in 2004 and implemented in January 2005. It responds to the argument that Romania's indefinite moratorium on inter-country adoption (except in cases of family adoption) embodied in the new legislation, is a breach of international obligations. It is argued that pressure on Romania to lift the moratorium is based on a misunderstanding of the problems Romania has faced and of the substantive content of the new laws. Institutionalisation of young children is prohibited and, for older children, clear priorities are created for re-integration in the natural family or, failing that, foster care or family-type accommodation before accommodation in an institution can be considered. It is further argued that there has been an unhealthy preoccupation in the West with the single issue of inter-country adoption to the neglect of these other positive reforms to the Romanian child protection system and the programme of de-institutionalisation. The view is taken that criticism of Romanian reforms relies on a distorted notion of what constitutes 'abandonment' and the status of 'orphan'. The author concludes that Romania should robustly resist political pressure to lift the moratorium, largely originating from the pro-adoption lobby in the United States and, most recently, apparently endorsed by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

scholarly journals Skipan talsmanns fyrir börn – grundvöllur ákvörðunar og framkvæmd

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-332
Author(s):  
Hrefna Friðriksdóttir ◽  
Hafdís Gísladóttir
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
The Status ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Child Friendly ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Instruments

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the rights of children in various justice systems. The interpretation of international instruments, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child legalized in Iceland as law 19/2013, places a strong emphasis on strengthening the status of the child. The concept of child-friendly justice has emerged reflecting a vision of a justice system that has adapted to the interests and needs of children. A key element is ensuring the right of the child to participate, building on the notion that participation actively promotes their citizenship in a democratic society. The complexity of child protection cases makes it imperative to ensure that children get the assistance they need to communicate and be able to influence procedures. This article discusses the development of provisions in child protection laws on the appointment of spokespersons for children and represents the findings of a study done on such appointments with various child protection committees. The main results of this research indicate that the development of the law has been positive. The enforcement does not however reflect these develpments and there is a lack of formality, assessment and satisfactory argumentation.

Children’s Parliaments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kay M. Tisdall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
The United States ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
School Level ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Definition Of

A children’s parliament can be defined as a formal structure for children and young people’s participation that meets on a regular or semi-regular basis. This is a working definition, as there is no single definition of children’s parliaments universally agreed upon. Very similar structures can be called different things, such as child councils, child forums, youth councils, and youth parliaments. For this entry, resources are included that refer to these and other terms but excludes structures only at school level. This entry concentrates on resources for children and young people under the age of eighteen, following the definition of the child in Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). However, there are far more resources on youth parliaments than on children’s parliaments, and youth parliaments frequently include young people below and above the age of eighteen. Thus, certain resources are included if the youth parliaments in question extend below the age of eighteen. Research evidence is illuminating but limited. Children’s parliaments can be found throughout the world, across all regions, sometimes championed by nongovernmental organizations (e.g., Ethiopia and India), while others supported by government (e.g., Finland, Ireland, Scotland, and the United States). They tend to involve older children and young people (i.e., over the age of twelve), although there are exceptions. For advocates, they are opportunities for children and young people to engage in democratic practices, influence decision-making, and develop personal skills and leadership qualities; for critics, they are tokenistic and unrepresentative structures that limit rather than further children and young people’s participation to influence decision-making collectively. The growth of children’s parliament was galvanized by the UNCRC and its participation rights. In particular, Article 12 of the UNCRC outlines children’s right “to express their views freely in all matters affecting the child,” and that these views be given “due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.” Children’s parliaments are one response to ensuring children’s views are expressed and given due weight in collective decision-making.

scholarly journals Development of the Child Protection System in Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-35
Author(s):  
Enikő Deák
Keyword(s):  
Community Involvement ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Care Program ◽  
Protection System ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Continuous Transformation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Keywords Child

The child protection system has been undergoing a continuous transformation since 1989. After the change of regime, orphanages were gradually abolished, and children’s homes and family-type houses were established instead. The study seeks to outline the change in attitude that has developed in the care of children growing up in families without children in Romania over the past 30 years. Three main periods of the decentralization process are distinguished, along which I also presented the last 30 years of the child protection system. The transformation of the Romanian child protection system has also had to deal with a number of obstacles, but its legal regulations are in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as it focuses on new principles such as person-centeredness, child and family participation and community involvement. However, there is still a large gap between theory and implementation. A government decree stipulates that by the end of 2020, all child protection centers should be dismantled and priority should be given to placement with relatives, adoption or a foster care program. It also obliges the institutions of the child protection system to help young people who leave the system to find housing and jobs. Getting out of the system, leaving the child protection system, is also a big challenge for all participants. A young adult who is successfully integrated into society can be one of the most authentic confirmations of a well-functioning system, which can even serve as a guide for further interventions and transformations. Keywords: child protection system, change, challenge

US backing of Israel over Golan will come with costs

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
West Bank ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The West ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status

Significance Trump asserted that the decision was necessary to promote regional security and stability. As with his 2017 decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the president is breaking with an international consensus on the status of the Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in 1967. Impacts The decision will further undermine Palestinian confidence that the United States is an impartial broker. It will raise questions over the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Forces (UNDOF). A limited campaign of rocket attacks into the Golan Heights by Hezbollah or other Iran-backed groups is possible. The move will further highlight policy towards Israel as a partisan issue in US domestic politics. Some right-wing Israeli and US politicians will use the momentum to push for Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Multicultural Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology in the United States: Still Art, Not Yet Science, and Controversial

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Dana
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Therapeutic Assessment ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
The Status ◽  
Training Research ◽  
Multicultural Assessment ◽  
Personality Description

This paper describes the status of multicultural assessment training, research, and practice in the United States. Racism, politicization of issues, and demands for equity in assessment of psychopathology and personality description have created a climate of controversy. Some sources of bias provide an introduction to major assessment issues including service delivery, moderator variables, modifications of standard tests, development of culture-specific tests, personality theory and cultural/racial identity description, cultural formulations for psychiatric diagnosis, and use of findings, particularly in therapeutic assessment. An assessment-intervention model summarizes this paper and suggests dimensions that compel practitioners to ask questions meriting research attention and providing avenues for developments of culturally competent practice.

Gerald H. Thayer's ornithological work in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Lesser Antilles

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Wiley
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
West Indies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lesser Antilles ◽  
American Museum ◽  
The West ◽  
Comparative Zoology ◽  
North And South America ◽  
North And South

Gerald Handerson Thayer (1883–1939) was an artist, writer and naturalist who worked in North and South America, Europe and the West Indies. In the Lesser Antilles, Thayer made substantial contributions to the knowledge and conservation of birds in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Thayer observed and collected birds throughout much of St Vincent and on many of the Grenadines from January 1924 through to December 1925. Although he produced a preliminary manuscript containing interesting distributional notes and which is an early record of the region's ornithology, Thayer never published the results of his work in the islands. Some 413 bird and bird egg specimens have survived from his work in St Vincent and the Grenadines and are now housed in the American Museum of Natural History (New York City) and the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Four hundred and fifty eight specimens of birds and eggs collected by Gerald and his father, Abbott, from other countries are held in museums in the United States.

Contemporary Qur'anic Studies in Iran and its Relationship with Qur'anic Studies in the West

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Morteza Karimi-Nia
Keyword(s):  
Islamic Law ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
The West ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Religious Learning ◽  
The Status ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The status of tafsīr and Qur'anic studies in the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed significantly during recent decades. The essay provides an overview of the state of Qur'anic studies in Iran today, aiming to examine the extent of the impact of studies by Western scholars on Iranian academic circles during the last three decades and the relationship between them. As in most Islamic countries, the major bulk of academic activity in Iran in this field used to be undertaken by the traditional ʿulamāʾ; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century and the establishment of universities and other academic institutions in the Islamic world, there has been increasing diversity and development. After the Islamic Revolution, many gradual changes in the structure and approach of centres of religious learning and universities have occurred. Contemporary advancements in modern sciences and communications technologies have gradually brought the institutions engaged in the study of human sciences to confront the new context. As a result, the traditional Shīʿī centres of learning, which until 50 years ago devoted themselves exclusively to the study of Islamic law and jurisprudence, today pay attention to the teaching of foreign languages, Qur'anic sciences and exegesis, including Western studies about the Qur'an, to a certain extent, and recognise the importance of almost all of the human sciences of the West.

Varied Responses to Human-Induced Seismicity in the City of Azle, Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sarmistha R. Majumdar
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Induced Seismicity ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
The Status

Fracking has helped to usher in an era of energy abundance in the United States. This advanced drilling procedure has helped the nation to attain the status of the largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the world, but some of its negative externalities, such as human-induced seismicity, can no longer be ignored. The occurrence of earthquakes in communities located at proximity to disposal wells with no prior history of seismicity has shocked residents and have caused damages to properties. It has evoked individuals’ resentment against the practice of injection of fracking’s wastewater under pressure into underground disposal wells. Though the oil and gas companies have denied the existence of a link between such a practice and earthquakes and the local and state governments have delayed their responses to the unforeseen seismic events, the issue has gained in prominence among researchers, affected community residents, and the media. This case study has offered a glimpse into the varied responses of stakeholders to human-induced seismicity in a small city in the state of Texas. It is evident from this case study that although individuals’ complaints and protests from a small community may not be successful in bringing about statewide changes in regulatory policies on disposal of fracking’s wastewater, they can add to the public pressure on the state government to do something to address the problem in a state that supports fracking.

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