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1. Programmes for vulnerable young people

2. Funding

3. Quality assurance

Programmes for vulnerable young people

Several programmes for youth social inclusion are established for vulnerable children and youth, as follows:

1. The School after school national program targets disadvantaged schools and provides hot meals and after-school tutoring. It aims to support vulnerable children and young people and prevent early school leaving. Initially piloted in 50 schools, the programme has since been expanded nationwide.

2. The Second Chance national program is designed for early school leavers and offers a flexible educational pathway to help them complete their compulsory education.

3. The employment programme for marginalized young people, implemented by the National Employment Agency, providing employment counselling, training, support for employment as well as incentives for employers.

4. Social benefit programmes. Legislation in the field of social benefits aims to improve the living standards of vulnerable persons, including young people. However, these measures are not targeting young people. Several legal provisions are targeting especially the reduction of (monetary) poverty regulate the social benefits:

• The inclusion minimum income (provided by Law no. 196/2016 on the inclusion minimum income) is paid to all persons with monthly revenue under a set threshold and includes cash transfers, tax reductions and deductions and complementary payments,

• The support for energy costs (provided by the Law no. 226/2021 regarding energy poverty).

5. Benefits for disabled persons (including young people) , children with disabilities and their caregivers (granted by Law no. 448/2006 on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities):

• Disabled persons have the right to special treatment (free healthcare, free transportation, free education etc.) and the right to an allowance for them and, if needed for a caregiver, at request.

• The family or the guardian of a child (including a young person under 18) with disabilities has the right to receive social assistance during the period when the child is in their care, supervision and support.

Funding

The School after School and Second Chance programmes were funded by the state budget and the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Human Capital until 2023. Since 2024, their funding has continued through the European Social Fund Plus under the Social Inclusion and Dignity Programme.

Support measures for young people leaving the special protection system and benefits for persons with disabilities are financed from the state budget. Social benefits are paid by local authorities from local budgets. Due to the structure of national budget classifications, the total funding allocated to these measures cannot be clearly identified.

Additional funding from the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Human Capital was available to local authorities, but not all counties accessed it. The Social Inclusion and Dignity Programme, funded by the European Social Fund Plus, launched several calls in 2024 and 2025 to continue support from the previous programming period.

Because of the way budgets are planned and reported, it is not possible to isolate the share of funding specifically allocated to young people, as programme budgets also cover children and adults.

Quality assurance

The National Agency for Payment and Social Inspection (NAPSI) is in charge of quality assurance for the programmes of social benefits and benefits for disabled persons. Fund cuts and even lawsuits in court of embezzlement against people receiving social benefits without right can be the result of these inspections.

Quality of School after School and Second Chance programmes is assured by the school inspection.

When the European Social Funds fund these programmes quality assurance is part of the grant rules and breaking any quality standard will determine proportional cut of funds.