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.