The professional foster carer is the 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 separated, temporarily or permanently, from their parents, or, as the case may be, during the respite period of another professional foster carer.

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

a) has reached the age of 21 years;

b) has graduated from 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 the spouse present affective availability in relationships with children, confirmed after psychological evaluation;

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

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

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

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

A person who finds themselves in any of the following situations cannot be a professional foster carer:

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

b) has been convicted by a final court decision for the intentional commission of a crime against a person, against authority, against justice, for corruption and service crimes, as well as for drug trafficking offenses, regarding the regime of doping substances, for carrying out illegal operations with precursors or other products likely to have psychoactive effects, or is registered with mentions in the national automated registry regarding persons who have committed sexual offenses, exploitation of persons or minors;

c) has in the family members who have reached the age of 14 or other persons who live together with them, 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 national automated registry regarding persons who have committed sexual offenses, exploitation of persons or minors;

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

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 or, as the case may be, a protection order has been issued, according to the provisions of Law no. 217/2003 for the prevention and combating of domestic violence, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, or according to the provisions of Law no. 26/2024 regarding the protection order, or has in the family members or other adult persons living with them for whom the mentioned orders have been issued;

h) 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 in situations where the child was adopted by their spouse;

j) suffers from mental illness, is dependent on alcohol, drugs, or other psychotropic substances, confirmed by medical certificates issued by a specialist doctor;

k) has in the family members or other adults who live with them, who suffer from mental illnesses, are dependent on alcohol, drugs, or other psychotropic substances, confirmed by medical certificates issued by a specialist doctor;

l) had their professional foster carer certificate withdrawn, except in cases where the certificate was withdrawn upon request.

The evaluation requested through the application provided in art. 5 is carried out by a team, appointed by the management of the directorate, composed of a psychologist and a social worker, the latter usually also having the responsibility of drawing up the final report, and includes the following stages: a) social evaluation; b) psychological evaluation.

After the social and psychological evaluations provided in art. 6, in preparation for the exercise of the activity of professional foster carer, the applicant participates in the training courses provided in art. 13. The training courses are not taken by the applicant who is a university graduate in the field of social work, psychology, or educational sciences.

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

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