The professional foster carer is a natural person, certified under the conditions of OG 27/ 01.08.2024, employed by the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection, who ensures at their home or, as the case may be, at their residence the upbringing, care, and education of the child during the application of the special protection measure of placement, emergency placement for the child temporarily or permanently separated from their parents, or, as the case may be, during the respite period of another professional foster carer.

May be certified as a professional foster carer the person who cumulatively meets the following conditions:

a) has reached the age of 21;

b) has graduated vocational or high school education;

c) through their behavior in society and psychological profile provides moral guarantees regarding the upbringing, care, and education of children;

d) the person and their spouse present emotional availability in relationships with children, confirmed following psychological evaluation;

e) the spouse and the children who have reached the age of 14 and who share the same residence or, as the case may be, the same domicile with the applicant, express their consent regarding the acceptance into the family of a child/children;

f) has a domicile or, as the case may be, a residence in a locality with access to educational and medical services for the child/children to be taken in placement and, if applicable, to habilitation/rehabilitation services for the child with disabilities;

g) has the right to use a dwelling that adequately covers the needs for food preparation, hygiene, education, and rest of its users, including those of the child/children who are to be taken in placement and for whom an individualized space for rest and homework can be ensured;

h) at least one of the adult family members earns an income, except the applicant, if they live with one or more members.

Cannot be a professional foster carer a person who is in the following situations:

a) has exceeded the standard retirement age provided by Law no. 360/2023 regarding the public pension system;

b) has suffered a conviction by a final court decision, for intentionally committing an offense against the person, against the authorities, against the administration of justice, of corruption and service, as well as for drug trafficking offenses, regarding the regime of doping substances, carrying out illegal operations with precursors or other products likely to have psychoactive effects, or is listed with mentions in the automated National Register regarding persons who have committed sexual, exploitation, or offenses against minors;

c) has in the family members who have reached the age of 14 or other persons who live together, who have been convicted by a final court decision for an offense from the category provided in letter b) or are registered with mentions in the automated National Register regarding persons who have committed sexual, exploitation, or offenses against minors;

d) has been deprived of parental rights by final court decision or has been prohibited from exercising parental rights as a complementary punishment;

e) suffers from communicable diseases that could endanger the child's health;

f) has in the family members or other adults living with them who suffer from communicable diseases that could endanger the child's health;

g) has a history of violence for which a provisional protection order or, as the case may be, a protection order has been issued, according to the provisions of Law no. 217/2003 for preventing and combating domestic violence, republished, with subsequent modifications and completions, or according to the provisions of Law no. 26/2024 regarding the protection order, or has in the family members or other adults living with them for whom the above-mentioned orders have been issued;

h) has had or, as the case may be, has one or more biological children in the special protection system;

i) has consented to the adoption of their own child, except where the child was adopted by the spouse;

j) suffers from mental illnesses, is addicted to alcohol, drugs, or other psychotropic substances, confirmed by medical certificates issued by a specialist doctor;

k) has in their family members or other adults living with them who suffer from mental illnesses, are addicted to alcohol, drugs or other psychotropic substances, confirmed by medical certificates issued by a specialist doctor;

l) their professional foster carer certificate has been withdrawn, except when the certificate was withdrawn at their request.

The assessment requested by the application provided for in art. 5 is carried out by a team designated by the management of the directorate, consisting of a psychologist and a social worker, the latter usually being responsible for drafting the final report, and includes the following stages: a) social assessment; b) psychological assessment.

After the social assessment and psychological assessment provided in art. 6, in order to prepare for exercising the activity of professional foster carer, the applicant participates in training courses provided in art. 13. The training courses are not attended by the applicant who is a university graduate in the field of social assistance, psychology or educational sciences.

After completing the assessment stages provided in art. 6 and the preparation for exercising the activity of professional foster carer provided in art. 7, the members of the assessment team draw up the final report assessing the capacity to care for, raise, and educate a child or, as the case may be, several children.

The final assessment report is communicated to the applicant within 10 working days from its registration with the directorate, with acknowledgment of receipt, by post or electronic mail, at the address indicated by the applicant.