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1. Housing

2. Social services

3. Health care

4. Financial services

5. Quality assurance

Housing

A special housing programme for young people (18-35 years old), allowing young people and families to rent or buy apartments at low prices is implemented by the Romanian Government, through the National House Agency, under the Ministry of Regional Development, Public Works and Administration. The houses are built by the National House Agency, but the municipalities, which can decide to rent or to sell the apartments, ensure their administration. In both cases the prices are fixed by the state. Even if one has to be young in order to sign a renting or buying contract, he/she can benefit from the low rent and keep the apartment without a difference in payment after the age of 35.

In 2022, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan funded by the European Union included available funding for municipalities for the construction of houses for young people and health and education professionals. 119 projects have been submitted. Approved projects are under implementation in March 2024. 

The municipalities also provide social houses in addition to the programme on housing for young people, but the programmes are not targeting young people, and there is no available data on the proportion of young people benefiting from social housing.

Social services

Social services are provided according to the Law no. 292/2011 of social assistance. There are three service types regulated:

1. Personal care services
2. Recovery services
3. (Re)integration social services

Social services are targeting the following groups:

• children and their families, including young people under 18 and young families;
• disabled persons, including young people with disabilities;
• elderly;
• victims of family violence, including young people;
• homeless people, including young homeless;
• people with various addictions (alcohol, drugs and other toxic substances, internet, gaming, etc.), including young addicts;
• victims of human trafficking, including young victims;
• detainees, including young persons;
• persons under probation, including young persons;
• people with mental disorders (including young people);
• people in isolated communities (including young people);
• long term unemployed (including young people)

All target groups, but the elderly, can include young people. Still, in none of the services designed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, young people are not specially targeted and none of these services is specially designed for young people.

Services include:

• accommodation in residential centres
• protected houses for persons with disabilities
• integration centres through occupational therapies for persons with disabilities
• special accommodation for victims of violence or trafficking
• aid services provided at the beneficiary home
• social canteens

Only certified providers can offer social services. Certification is issued based on quality standards drafted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity and the verification of social inspection to:

1. Public institutions, organised by the local public authorities
2. NGOs

Social services aiming at young people with a focus on the young people leaving the special protection system are offering support measures (housing or accommodation, daily allowance), to these young people at request and for a limited period of time, in accordance with the Law no. 292/2011 of social assistance.

Any social service is only provided at request. Not all certified services are available in all communities, not even in big cities. A map of certified social services providers have been released by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity in December 2016 and it is constantly updated. On the other hand, a map of necessary social services is also available, informing the social policy decision makers and potential social services providers on the existing needs.

Health care

Young people until 26, if they are attending any school or educational institution, benefit from state health insurance.

Services for substances addicts and campaigns to prevent addictions are including young people among their target groups, but they are not primarily and specially designated for young people. Services are provided in certified centres managed by public authorities or NGOs, as described in the previous section. Probably the campaigns against addictions are the most visible public campaigns funded by the government.

Recovery services for persons with disabilities, including young people are also available in the certified centres managed by public authorities or NGOs.

Health mediators are regulated in Romania and they can be professionally trained in a training programme. But there is not a visible campaign to develop a national health mediators network.

Financial services

There are no information on financial services designed for vulnerable young people.

Quality assurance

For the youth housing programme, quality is ensured by the local authorities, based on autonomous systems. Local authorities have an inspection service and there is no centralised information at national level on the amount of work done by this service in order to ensure quality of housing provided for vulnerable young people.

Quality assurance for the social and health services is provided via the certification based on quality standards and the inspection of the social inspection. The social inspection works within the National Agency for Payment and Social Inspection (NAPSI) conducting verifications based on an annual plan and unannounced controls.