The professional foster carer is a natural person, certified according to the law, who, through the activity carried out at their own residence, ensures the upbringing, care, and education necessary for the harmonious development of the children received into placement.

Persons residing within the territorial area of Teleorman County, interested in becoming a foster carer, must submit to the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Teleorman an application for evaluation of their capacity, accompanied by the documents mentioned below. The certificate is issued by the Commission for Child Protection and is valid for 3 years.

Only persons who meet the following conditions can be certified as professional foster carer:

• have full capacity for exercise;
• through their behavior in society, state of health, and psychological profile, provide guarantees for the correct fulfillment of the obligations incumbent upon a parent, regarding the upbringing, care, and education of their children;
• have at their disposal a residence that meets the needs for food preparation, hygiene, education, and rest for its users, including those of the children who are to be received in placement or entrusted;
• have attended the professional training courses organized by the specialized public service for child protection or the authorized private organization that conducts the evaluation for granting the certificate of professional foster carer.

Cannot be a professional foster carer:

• a person who has suffered a conviction by a final court decision, for committing an intentional crime;
• a parent deprived of parental rights or whose child has been declared abandoned by a final court decision;
• a person suffering from chronic communicable diseases.

A person who is engaged in salaried activity can become a professional foster carer only on the condition of terminating the individual employment contract on the basis of which the respective salaried activity is carried out.