Ministry of Labour and Social Protection*

The accreditation procedure for social services is carried out under the conditions of Law no. 197/2012 on quality assurance in the field of social services, as amended, and is provided in Government Decision no. 118/2014 for the approval of the Methodological Norms regarding the implementation of Law no. 197/2012, with subsequent amendments and completions, chapter II, section 2 - Accreditation of social services. The licensing of social services is carried out according to the following situations: a) initial licensing (when the provider requests licensing for the first time or in the case where licensing is requested after its withdrawal) and b) obtaining a new operating license (re-licensing), in the case of social services whose licensing period has expired. The present procedure describes the activities of assessment and certification of compliance with minimum quality standards by granting the initial operating license.

The licensing of social services is carried out at the request of the provider, for the social services defined in art. 27 para. (1) of the Social Assistance Law no. 292/2011, as amended, and which are found in the annex to the Government Decision no. 867/2015 for the approval of the Nomenclature of Social Services, as well as the framework regulations for the organization and functioning of social services.

The provider is obliged to request the initial licensing or issuance of a new operating license for the social service at least 60 days before the commissioning of the social service or, as the case may be, from the expiration of the operating license. In order to request the licensing of social services, the provider must obligatorily hold an accreditation certificate as a provider, granted under the conditions provided by Law no. 197/2012 on quality assurance in the field of social services.

The licensing of the social service involves the following stages: a) evaluation of the social service based on minimum quality standards; b) approval or rejection of the social service licensing application; c) issuance of the provisional operating license/operating license or, as the case may be, notification of rejection of the licensing application; d) registration of the licensed social service in the unique electronic register of social services, updated monthly on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

The initial licensing of the social service involves:

a) verification of the data and information from the documents of the accreditation file of the service (the social service accreditation request - Annex 7 to GD 118/2014, the self-evaluation form - Annex 9 to GD no. 118/2014 and the supporting documents provided in art. 18 para (1) of GD no. 118/2014 as amended) submitted by the provider, based on which the provisional operating license is issued (valid for a maximum period of one year) and registered in the unique electronic register of social services, or, as the case may be, the decision to reject the granting thereof is issued;

b) at least 3 months before the expiration date of the provisional operating license, an on-site verification by social inspectors of the compliance with minimum standards is performed, based on which the operating license is issued (valid for 5 years) or, as the case may be, the decision to reject the granting thereof. Social inspectors verify the legal operating conditions and the conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents and the self-evaluation form with the on-site reality.

c) if, upon on-site evaluation, it is found that the legal operating conditions are met, the conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents with the reality on site, and that the minimum standards are met by 75%, without harming the life and safety of the beneficiary, it is proposed to maintain the provisional operating license and a deadline is set to remedy the aspects that led to the non-fulfillment of the minimum standards, so that a new on-site evaluation and recommendation for the granting of the operating license can be carried out within the period provided in letter a);

d) if, upon on-site evaluation, it is found that the legal operating conditions are not met, either by finding nonconformity between the data presented in the supporting documents and the reality on site, or by finding that the minimum standards are not met at least to the percentage provided in letter c), contraventional sanctions apply, the provisional operating license is withdrawn, and the respective social service is deregistered from the unique electronic register of social services.

The supporting documents in the licensing file are as follows:

a) the document certifying the right of administration, concession, or use of the space where the social service operates, such as: land registry extract for information, lease agreement, concession, administration, exchange, etc.;

b) the legal act/document regarding the decision to establish the service, as appropriate;

c) the social service organization and operation regulation, developed with observance of the framework model approved by GD no. 867/2015, as amended and supplemented;

d) photographs of the premises related to the development of social services, at the date of the accreditation application;

e) the CV of a person with qualifications in social work or social service management;

f) a copy of the employment contract or services contract concluded with the person provided in point e);

g) the provider's commitment to notify the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection or, as the case may be, its subordinate institutions, namely the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions (ANPDCA), the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES), of any changes regarding the social service for which it has obtained the operating license that occur after its granting, completed according to the model provided in Annex no. 8, depending on the beneficiaries of the social service;

h) the emergency plan in case of withdrawal of the operating license/closing down of the social service, if provided in the applicable minimum quality standard.

Regardless of the category of beneficiaries to whom the social service is addressed, its accreditation file can be sent electronically in non-editable format to the email address acreditare@mmuncii.gov.ro, can be submitted directly at the registry of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection or can be sent by mail, with acknowledgment of receipt. The licensing application, the self-evaluation form, and the supporting documents are also sent to the email address of the accreditation department, on the date of filing or mailing the accreditation file of the service.

The resolution of licensing files for services is carried out within 60 calendar days, set from the date of registration of the service licensing application in the special register of records of accreditation applications for social services. The term may be extended by a maximum of 15 calendar days, in which case the accreditation department notifies the provider regarding the duration for resolving the licensing application and the reasons for its extension, before its expiration.

The operating license is issued for a period of 5 years for all types of social services. The period of granting the provisional operating license is included in the period of granting the operating license for the respective social service. Within 30 days from the closure or dissolution, by the provider's decision, of a licensed social service, it is obliged to notify the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, for the purpose of issuing the decision to cease the validity of the operating license and deregistration of the respective social service from the unique electronic register of social services.

Decisions regarding the rejection of service accreditation, as well as decisions regarding the suspension and withdrawal of accreditation can be contested according to the Law on Administrative Litigation no. 554/2004, as amended and supplemented.

The legislative framework for the accreditation of social service providers/accreditation of social services can be viewed on the MMPS website, by accessing the link http://www.mmuncii.ro/j33/index.php/ro/2014-domenii/familie/politici-familiale-incluziune-si-asistenta-sociala/4849.

The reaccreditation (relicensing) procedure for social services is carried out under the conditions of Law no. 197/2012 regarding the assurance of quality in the field of social services, with subsequent amendments, and is provided in Government Decision no. 118/2014 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for applying the provisions of Law no. 197/2012, with subsequent amendments and completions, chapter II, section 2 - Accreditation of social services.

Obtaining a new license for social services for which the operating license expires involves:

a) evaluation of the social service, based on the supporting documents submitted by the provider and the field evaluation report, carried out as part of the process of monitoring compliance with minimum standards;

b) issuance of the operating license, only if the field evaluation report confirms the full compliance with minimum standards, as well as the conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents and the self-evaluation form with reality in the field;

c) in the situation where the field evaluation report notes non-compliance with minimum standards and these are not remedied within the established deadlines, the proposed measure may be suspension of the operation of the social service or, as is the case, withdrawal of the operating license, followed by deletion of the service from the Unified Electronic Registry of Social Services.

The provider has the obligation to request the issuance of a new operating license for the social service at least 60 days before the expiration of the operating license.

Reaccreditation of social services is carried out based on the data and information contained in the supporting documents from the existing accreditation file, in the monitoring report (Annex 13 to GD no. 118/2014), in the reaccreditation request for the social service (Annex 7), as well as in the reaccreditation notification (Annex no. 19 to GD no. 118/2014).

The reaccreditation notification is requested from the territorial agency by the provider of the social service a maximum of 30 calendar days before the date of submission or transmission of the reaccreditation file to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection or, as the case may be, to its subordinate institutions, namely the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions (ANPDCA), the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES).

In order to obtain a new license for the social service, the most recent inspection mission, scheduled according to the provisions of art. 24 para. (2) of Law no. 197/2012, is carried out within a maximum period of 3 months prior to the date of expiration of the operating license.

The monitoring report, drawn up during the inspection mission, is completed by social inspectors according to the model used for the evaluation report, provided in Annex no. 13, and is drafted in 3 copies. Two original copies of the monitoring report remain with the provider of the social service.

In cases where providers consider that the proposals to reject the social service’s licensing request, as well as those regarding the withdrawal of the provisional operating license or the operating license, formulated by social inspectors in the evaluation/monitoring reports, hereinafter referred to as initial reports, do not correspond to reality, they may contest, in writing, the evaluation report, requesting a new on-site evaluation. The reevaluation request is submitted to the social inspection department within the National Agency, within a maximum of 3 days from the date of drawing up the initial report. If the reasons presented in the reevaluation request are justified, within a maximum of 10 days from the registration of the reevaluation request, the director of the social inspection organizes an evaluation/monitoring mission on-site at the headquarters of the social service that is the subject of the request and a new evaluation/monitoring report is drawn up, hereinafter referred to as the reevaluation report.

If it is found that the data recorded in the initial report are consistent with reality in the field, it is forwarded, together with the reevaluation report, to the accreditation department for the preparation of the documentation for the withdrawal or rejection of the request for the granting of the provisional license or the operating license for the reevaluated social service.

In the situation where it is found that the minimum standards are met by the reevaluated social service, the reevaluation report is forwarded to the accreditation department, in order to continue the accreditation/reaccreditation procedure.

The reaccreditation file of the service may be sent electronically in non-editable format to the e-mail address acreditare@mmuncii.gov.ro, may be submitted directly to the ministry’s registry, or may be sent by mail, with acknowledgment of receipt, 60 calendar days prior to the expiration date of the previous license. A copy of the reaccreditation request form is also sent to the e-mail address of the accreditation department, on the date of submission or mailing of the service reaccreditation file.

Based on the monitoring report and the supporting documents requested, the evaluator drafts the reaccreditation decision, according to the model provided in Annex no. 20. The reaccreditation decision together with the operating license form granted for the next 5 years from the date of expiration of the previous license are sent for approval to the management of MMPS, namely the management of ANPDCA, ANES.

The accreditation department, within a maximum of 15 days from the date of approval of the operating license, notifies the provider, by fax or e-mail, of the approval of the reaccreditation of the social service and records in the Register the identification data of the operating license.

The reaccredited social service provider may take possession of the original operating license, under the conditions provided in art. 11 para. (5).

The legislative framework regarding the accreditation/reaccreditation of social services can be viewed on the MMPS website, by accessing the link http://www.mmuncii.ro/j33/index.php/ro/2014-domenii/familie/politici-familiale-incluziune-si-asistenta-sociala/4849

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