Two residential institutions in Cocieri commune are being merged. These are the Temporary Placement Center for Persons with Disabilities (adults) in Cocieri commune of Dubasari district, which will be absorbed by the Placement Center for Elderly and Disabled People situated in the same locality. In a response to IPN, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection said that the merger was decided due to the inefficient use of human resources and spaces. It is also aimed at deinstitutionalizing beneficiaries.
The institutions will be reorganized and the beneficiaries, depending on the degree of autonomy, will be ensured the right to live independently in the community “by prioritizing the use of financial means for the development of social services”. Lilia Herta, head of the Ministry’s policy department for the protection of persons with disabilities, said that Moldova ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and by ratifying it, it assumed the closure of placement centers. For these persons, depending on their level of independence, community homes and social dwellings will be created. The official assured that no beneficiary will suffer and that the process takes place for their good.
The merger of the two institutions implies the uniform distribution and use of human resources and spaces for serving beneficiaries, not the dismissal of the employed staff. Currently, 125 salary earners serve 90 beneficiaries, which is not efficient, said Lilia Herta. The staff of the two institutions will be rehired.
Merging the two institutions means creating a single institution with a single director.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Cabinet approved the National Program on the Deinstitutionalization of People with Disabilities and the Action Plan for 2023-2027. The reform proposes a new concept of reorganization of eight residential institutions of which the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is the founder, focusing on the rights of persons in placement, the individual needs for assistance and care determined by the type and complexity of disability to prevent abuses and allow planning services and activities based on needs, interests, valorizing social skills and roles. The merger of the two residential institutions in Cocieri is provided for in the decision on the organization and functioning of the Agency for the Management of High Specialization Social Services, which was approved by the Cabinet in early December 2023.
