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LAW CONCERNING THE NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM
(Law no.705/2001)

THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES THE SENATE

LAW CONCERNING THE NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM
(Law no.705/2001)

CHAPTER I – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 1 – The present law regulates the organisa tion, operation and funding of the National
Social Assistance System in Romania.

Art 2 – Social assistance is the part of the nationa l social protection system whereby the state
and civil society jointly act to prevent, limit or remove the temporary or permanent
consequences of the personal conditions likely to drive one to marginal positions in society,
or cause social rejection.

Art. 3 – Social assistance focuses on protecting the people who are unable to provide for their
basic necessities of life, or develop personal skills and abilities to sustain their social
integration, because of economic, physical, psychological or social constraints.

Art. 4 – (1) Social need is a set of personal necessities essential to secure life standards
adjusted to one’s progress towards social integration.
(2) The evaluation of the social needs is car ried out in accordance with the regulations
of the normative acts.

Art. 5 – (1) Public specialised institutions of the stat e, as well as the accredited civil society
organisations are held responsible for social assistance actions.
(2) In terms of the present law, social assistance includes the set of benefits granted in money
or in kind, as well as the social services.

Art. 6 – The basic concepts of the nationa l social assistance system are:
a) respect for human dignity – as recognition of basic human values, one’s personality is
guaranteed free and full accomplishment;
b) universality – one is entitled to social assistan ce, according to legal stipulations;
c) social solidarity – communities jointly support the people who are unable to provide for
their basic necessities of life, in order to maintain and sustain social cohesion;
d) partnership – public institutions and the civil society organisations co-ope rate to organise
and improve social services;
e) subsidiary character – the state steps in, through legal pr ovisions, to address one’s basic
necessities on a partial or full basis, if lo cal or community initiatives failed to do so.

Art. 7 – The State assumes the task of carrying out social assistance measures by means of
specific laws, and transfers it s attributions local public authorities, decentralised public
authorities, and the civil society.
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Art. 8 – MLSS defines the priority guidelines within the national social assistance plan, is the
authority, which initiates laws in the field of social assistance and monitors their
implementation at central and local level.

Art. 9 – To implement social assistance measur es, MLSS co-operate with governmental
institutions, county and local councils, as well as civil society representatives.

CHAPTER II – SOCIAL ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY

Art. 10 – (1) The social assistance eligibility is legally guaranteed for all resident Romanian
citizens, regardless of age, education level, se x, religious belief, opinion, political affiliation,
income of social origin.
(2) Foreign citizens, stateless pe rsons and refugees with permanent or temporary residence in
Romania are eligible for social assistance bene fits in terms of the Romanian legislation and
according to the agreements Romania ratified with other states.
(3) Social assistance eligibility is granted at request or ex officio, according to the law.
(4) All citizens are entitled to be informed about the substance and gr anting terms of social
assistance programmes.

Art. 11 – Social assistance rights shall be establis hed in accordance with the special laws that
regulate them.

Art. 12 – Official records of social assistance be nefits shall be registered by means of the
personal numerical code, in full confidentiality of the personal data.

CHAPTER III – SOCIAL BE NEFITS AND SERVICES
SECTION 1 – SOCIAL BENEFITS
Art. 13 – The social benefits granted in money or in kind are sustained through financial
redistribution measures and include the family allowance, compensation payment, social aid
and special allowances to families or persons, according to their needs and earnings.

Art. 14 – Family allowances are granted to fa milies with children, mainly for childbirth,
education and support.

Art. 15 – Social aid is the benefit granted in money and in kind to persons or families
whose incomes are insufficient to address their needs.

Art. 16 – The persons with physical, se nsorial, psychic or mental disabilities are eligible for
special allowances to support their social integration.

Art 17 – The persons eligible for social assistance benefits are also entitled to certain facilities
that specific laws regulate.
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SECTION 2 – SOCIAL SERVICES
Art. 18 – In terms of the present law, social services are aimed at maintaining, rehabilitating
and developing individual abilities that help people to overcome chronic or contingency
situations of need, as long as the person or fa mily alone are unable to address that situation.

Art. 19 – The State organises and provides financial and technica l means as support to the
social services, encouraging partnership relations with communities and other civil society
organisations.

Art. 20 – Social services are provided at the assisted person’s home, in specialised day-care or
residential institutions.

Art. 21 – The social services include social-m edical and social assistance services.

Art 22 – (1) Social-medical services are granted to people who are unable to have a normal
life owing to temporary or permanent physical, ps ychic, mental, and sensorial deficiencies, as
well as to persons in the terminal phase of an incurable disease.
(2) The social-medical services are provided by specialised personnel.

Art. 23 – (1) Social assistance services focus on rehabilitating and deve loping individual and
group skills that could help one overcom e difficulties by their own efforts.
(2) Social assistance services are professiona l services performed by qualified staff.
(3) Social assistance services are performed by means of specific approaches and techniques
that identify the need for assistance and so cial intervention, and consist in providing
information, counselling, individual and group therapy, occupational therapy.

Art. 24 – (1) Social assistance services can be classified as community-based social assistance
services, and specialised social assistance services.
(2) Community-based social assistance services have a general and basic character, and are
provided at the assisted person’s home, in family and community.
(3) The specialised services of social assistan ce are being provided for special needs at the
assisted person’s home, and in specialised or other categories of institutions (schools,
hospitals, penitentiaries , production units, etc).

Art. 25 – (1) The Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (MLSS) sets up the national
priorities in social assistance activit ies, by means of mandatory regulations.
(2) County councils set the local priorities according to local community needs,
complying with the national social assistance strategy.
(3) The organisation of the service system and the way in which these services are
delivered are approved by Governmental decision.

Art. 26 – Public and private institutions and units, as well as the associations and foundations
that provide social services shall meet qual ity standards and comply with methodological
norms that were set by the law.
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CHAPTER IV – SOCIAL ASSISTANCE INSTITUTIONS

Art. 27 – (1) Social assistance institutions are set up and organised as public or private
specialised units.
(2) Social assistance institutions pr ovide protection, shelter, care-taking, social rehabilitation
and reinsertion activities to the children, disa bled, elderly, and other social categories,
according to their specific needs.

Art 28 – (1) Shelter in social assistance institutions will be provided when home-care is no
longer possible, and will be decided following the dependent person’s ‘social and social-
medical evaluation, with that person’s agreement for it.
(2) If the dependent person’s or child’s health condition impedes upon obtaining the
mentioned agreement, admission to a social assistance institution will be granted on
authorisation by the dependent person’s or , if necessary, of the guardian authority.
Art. 29 – Social assistance institutions are authorised to carry out and provide social services
also at the dependent person’s home, according to that person’s specific needs.

Art. 30 – The list of social assi stance institutions, and the procedures and norms for
accrediting public and private social assistan ce institutions shall be set up through
Government decision, following the proposal made by MLSS.

Art. 31 – (1) Accredited social assistance instit utions should meet quality standard
requirements for the services they provide. Th e construction and rehabilitation designs for
social assistance buildings should corre spond to their beneficiaries’ needs.
(2) The social assistance institutions that were mentioned in par. (1) shall comply with the
minimum organisational and functioning criter ia, which are approved through Government
decision.

Art. 32 – (1) Social assistance institutions operating on partial or total state budget funding, or
county or local budget funding will be set up th rough Government decision, respectively the
county or local council decision.
(2) The public social assistance institutions are run by a director, whose activity is supported
by a consultative board composed of representati ves of the beneficiaries and social partners.
(3) The organisation and functioning of the public institutions for social assistance are set up
by the governing bodies that es tablish those institutions.

Art. 33 – The local council, together with the mana gerial team in public social assistance
institutions has the obligation to address the social contingencies in the administrative-
territorial area where the institution is located.

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CHAPTER V – THE ORGANISATION AND OPERATION OF THE
NATIONAL SOCIAL A SSISTANCE SYSTEM
SECTION 1 – AT THE CENTRAL LEVEL
Art. 34 – (1) Within the central public administration , MLSS is the authority that draws up the
social assistance policy, sets up the development social assistance strategies for development
in this field and promotes the rights of famil y, child, single persons, the elderly, the disabled,
and other persons in need. In setting up the deve lopment strategy in this field, the MLSS will
consult the main representa tives of civil society.
(2) The Ministry of Health and Family, the Mini stry of Education and Research, the Ministry
of Public Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the National Authority for child Protection,
as well as other gover nmental institutions and bodies set up, in their respective fields of
competence, social assistance policies and programmes.

Art.35 – (1) For the co-ordination of the national social assistance system, there will be
established an Interministerial Commission, whic h will be co-ordinated by the Minister of
Labour and Social Solidarity.
(2) The main tasks of the Interministerial Commission for social assistance are the
following:
a) set up coherent policies in the field of social assistance;
b) co-ordinates, at national level, the social assistance activities;
c) sanctions social assistance policies a nd measures set up by the ministries
and institutions mentioned n art.34, para.(2).
(3) The membership, organisation and task s of the Interministerial Commission on
social assistance are approved by Governmental Decision.

Art. 36 – MLSS main social assistance attributions are to:
a) co-ordinates and controls the functioni ng of the national of social assistance
system (NSAS);
b) draws up draft laws, methodological norms , and regulations regarding NSAS
operation;
c) draws up the national plan that sets imperative guidelines in the field,
according to the actual needs and resources;
d) sets up quality standards fo r social services in co-operation with academic
and research institutions, professional organisations activating in the field,
with social assistance and h ealth-care system specialists;
e) sets up, implements and evaluates the na tional social assistance programmes;
f) guides and monitors the activity of the public and private social assistance
institutions in relation with the applic ation of social assistance measures;
g) draws up training and retraining programmes for social assistance staff in co-
operation with the Ministry of Na tional Education and Research, with the
Ministry of Health and Family, prof essional associations and academic
institutions;
h) organises the accreditation process, draw up the methodology for accrediting
public and private social assistance in stitutions, as well as of the NGOs acting
in this field;
i) guides and controls the ac tivity of associations and foundations, ensuing that
they respect the social rights of the people in need;
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j) develops collaborative and co-operation relations with international bodies,
conclude co-operation agreements with these bodies for external funding
programmes;
k) finances the national social assistance programmes;
l) administers and manages the funds alloca ted, in accordance with the law, for
social assistance.

Art. 37 – (1) MLSS is authorised to set up advisory bodies to support the social assistance
strategy development, prepare social assistance standards, assess social assistance services
quality.
(2) MLSS is authorised to establish subordina te executive bodies centred on specific local
social issues, or aimed to implement specific social programmes.

SECTION 2 – AT TERRITORIAL LEVEL
1. AT THE LEVEL OF COUNTY LABOUR AND SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
DIRECTORATES AND OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR LABOUR AND SOCIAL
SOLIDARITY OF THE BUCHAREST MUNICIPALITY
Art. 38 – (1) MLSS sets up specialised de partments (called hereafter public services for social
assistance ) within the county labour a nd social solidarity directorates and in the General
Directorate for Labour and Social Solid arity of the City of Bucharest.
(2) The county labour and social solidarity dire ctorates and in the General Directorate for
Labour and Social Solidarity of the City of Bucharest are authoris ed to set up offices in those
townships where the number and the structure of the beneficiaries, as well as the complexity
of the activity call for such measures.

Art. 39 – (1) The county labour and social solidarity directorates and respectively the General
Directorate for Labour and Social Solidarity of the City of Bucharest have the following
attribution in the field of social assistance:
a) ensure, at local level, the registration of the beneficiaries and social assistance
expenses;
b) accredit the specialised personnel which is going to provide home social
services, according to the current legislation;
c) collect social assistance data, and eval uate the impact of social policies on
their beneficiaries;
d) carry out social assistance studies and analyses;
e) co-operate in drafting the county and Bucharest Municipality plans for local
intervention strategies that support the people in need;
f) control the implementation of social assistance legislation, and enforce
sanctions when law vi olations are found;
g) control the activity of public social assi stance institutions and territorial social
assistance bodies involved in the mana gement and financial administration of
social benefits and services, and also of the NGOs activating in the field;
h) offer methodological support and guidance for setting up and implementation
of local social assistance programmes;
i) administer and manage the fund allocate d, in accordance with the law, for
social assistance;
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j) put forth proposals for social assistance fund allocations and send them to the
MLSS.
(2) The establishment, in accordance with the law, of social assistance rights and their
payment, as well as the provision of other ri ghts granted by the law are carried out by the
director of the county directorat e for labour and social solidarity or by the director general of
the General Directorate for La bour and Social Solidarity of Bucharest Municipality,
respectively.
2. AT THE LEVEL OF COUNTY COUNCILS AND OF THE
GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE BUCHARES T MUNICIPALITY, RESPECTIVELY
Art. 40 – (1) The county councils and the General C ouncil of the Bucharest Municipality
organise within their own structure, a social assistance department¸ which ensures the
implementation at the territorial level of the social assistance policies in the field of the
family, child, single persons, elderly, disable d, and any other category of persons in need.
(2) The framework organisational and functi oning regulations of the public service are
approved by Governmental decision, following th e proposal of MLSS and the Ministry of
Public Administration, within 30 day from the pub lication of this law in Romanian Official
Monitor.

Art. 41 – The county councils and the General Counc il of the Bucharest Municipality have
the following attributes in the field of social assistance:
a) approve the county social assistance plan for developing local strategie
s to
intervene in support of the persons in need;
b) establish prevention measures against so cial marginalisation and rejection and
ensure the capacities necessary to cope with social contingencies;
c) evaluate the activity of NGOs that operate in programmes which are subsidised by
the budget of the county councils or, accordin g to circumstances, of the General
Council of the Bucharest Municipality;
d) approve the creation, financing or, acco rding to circumstances, co-funding of
public social assistance institutions, and evaluate their activities;
e) co-operate with the MLSS territorial social assistance public services to
implement social assistance strategies;
f) conclude partnership agreements with ci vil society representatives involved in
social assistance programmes.
3. AT THE LEVEL OF LOCAL COUNCILS
Art. 42 – (1) Local councils in municipal cities, to wns and the sectors of the Bucharest
Municipality shall set up as a public service, according to the provisions of art.40, para.(2),
social assistance departments.
(2) The local communal councils will include in their staff persons responsible for
social assistance.
(3) L ocal councils in towns and communes may organise territorial services for social
assistance .
(4) The local councils in muni cipal cities, towns, communes and the sectors of the
Bucharest Municipality have the following main at tributions in the field of social assistance:
a) they ensure the identification of social issues and address them in terms of
the law;
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b) administer and manage the funds al located for the social assistance;
c) organise and sustain fi nancially the social assistance service system;
d) develop and administer social se rvices, according to local needs;
e) cover the subsidies approved by th e legally certified Romanian
associations and foundations engage d in social service programmes;
f) make proposals for the allocation of funds for social assistance and send
them to the general directorates for public finances and state financial
control at the county and Bucharest Municipality levels, respectively;
g) initiate co-operation programmes with NGO-s, cult institutions recognised
in Romania, and other civil societ y representatives, according to the
national and county social assistance plans;
h) draw up, in accordance with the law, agr eements for the provision of social
services;
i) offer premises, financial and logistical means for carrying out the social
assistance activities;
j) grant social housing, in accordance with the law;
k) finance and, when applicable, co-fin ance public institutions for social
assistance of local interest, and so cial assistance service programmes;
l) inform, on a monthly basis, the county labour and social solidarity
directorate or the General Directorate for Labour and Social Solidarity,
respectively, about the number of so cial assistance beneficiaries and the
sums spent in this respect.
(5) The establishment, in accordance with the law, of the rights to social assistance benefits
and the payment for these services, as well as the granting of the special benefits stipulated by
the law are authorised by the mayor.

CHAPTER VI – THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM STAFF
Art. 43 – The staff engaged in social assistance activities works both permanently and on a
voluntary basis.

Art. 44 – The social assistance services specif ied in Art. 23 are carried out by personnel
specialised in social assistance.

Art. 45 – (1) The specialised social assistance staff shall be trained in academic institutions,
colleges or other training forms, according to legal stipulations.
(2) The specialised staff has the obligation to fulfil the attributions and responsibilities
stipulated in the professional statute, appr oved by law at the proposal of professional
associations, formed according to the law and accredited by the MLSS.

Art. 46 – The young who chose an alternative milita ry service may provide community-care
services.

Art. 47 – The social assistance staff and volunteers active in the social assistance shall:
a) guarantee the confidential character of information acquired during work;
b) respect the assisted person’s privacy and freedom of choice;
c) be faithful to professional ethics.

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Art. 48 – Failure to respect the obligations stated in Art. 46 involves, in accordance with the
law, disciplinary, civil, and where appropriate pena l responsibility

Art. 49 – Social assistance institutions shall provide the staff structure that was stipulated in
norms issued by Government decisions.

Art.50 – (1) In terms of the statute mentioned in Ar t. 44 (2), a disciplinary commission shall
be established in each professional asso ciation. This commission will have its own
organisational and functi oning set of regulation.
(2) Any infringement of professiona l ethics and deontology by the staff specified in art.45
while performing their profession will be sanctioned by the disciplinary commission.
(3) The decision taken by the discipline commissi on can be attacked in court, within 30 day
from the date when they were made announced.

Art. 51 – The persons convicted definitively for infr actions related to social assistance work
are banned to work within social assistance system.

Art. 52 – Social assistance activities can be evalua ted by the public social assistance services,
which can hire for this purpose the services of independent experts.
CHAPTER VII – SOCIAL ASSISTANCE FUNDING
Art. 53 – (1) Social assistance shall be funded from the local budgets as well as the state
budget.
(2) Social assistance shall also be funded from extra-budgetary funds,
donations, sponsorship actions, or other contributions from do mestic or foreign natural
persons or legal entities, as we ll as the contribution of social services beneficiaries, in
accordance with the provisions of the law.

Art. 54 – The financing of social assistance, as st ated in Art. 52, is established through the
special laws that regulate the distribution of social benefits and services.

Art. 55 – (1) Public social assistance institutions may organise self-financed activities.
(2) The revenues obtained as stated in par. 1 are used to cover the expenses for the respective
activities, as well as for improving the services administered by that public social assistance
institution.

Art. 56 – (1) The contributions of the persons benefiting from social assistance measures are
supported from the monthly revenues of those pers ons and, if necessary, with the participation
of other persons responsible for the former, in accordance with the methodological norms
approved by Governmental decision.
(2) The contributions mentioned in par. 1 cannot be higher than the level of the average
monthly costs approved by the order of the Labour and Social Solidarity Minister for different
types of institutions.

Art. 57 – The county councils, the General Council of the Bucharest Municipality, as well as
the local councils can commission social services, in accordance with the law, to suppliers of
such services.

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Art. 58 – Public social assistance institutions are exempted from taxes on the lands and the
buildings they use for soci al assistance activities.

Art. 59 – The remaining sums at the end of th e year which come from extra-budgetary
activities can be reallocated to the same activities in the next year.

CHAPTER VIII – THE SOCIAL ASSISTANCE JURISDICTION

Art.60 – The request for receiving social assistance benefits must be registered with the town
hall in the area of residence of the applicant, following which a period of up to 30 days is
necessary for the mayor’s decision to be formulated and communicated to the applicant.

Art. 61 – The mayor’s decision can be attacked in accordance with Law 29/1990 regarding
administrative conflicts.

Art.62 – The requests addressed to the court in connection with solving conflict relating to
social assistance rights are exempted from the judiciary tax.

CHAPTER IX – SOCIAL MEDIATION COMMISSION

Art. 63 – (1) A Social Mediation Commi ssion shall be established in every county and sector
of the Bucharest Municipality.
(2) The Social Mediation Commission clarifie s, by way of dialogue, the dissension points
existing between the persons solicit ing social assistance, the beneficiaries of social assistance
rights and the representatives of the in stitutions which provide these rights.
(3) The organisation and functioning of the so cial mediation commission are approved by
Government decision, at the suggestion of the MLSS and the Ministry of Public
Administration.

CHAPTER X – FINAL AND T RANSITORY PROVISIONS

Art. 64 – At the request of the persons involved, th e territorial social assistance public
services, the county councils and the General Council of the Bucharest Municipality, as well
as the local councils provide, free of charge, sp ecialised consultancy in the field of social
assistance.

Art. 65 – The requests addressed to judicial courts in connection with conflicts related to
social assistance benefits are exempted from the judicial tax.

Art. 66 – The county and local councils, the NGOs and other institutions involved in carrying
out social assistance programmes have the obl igation to report on a monthly basis, to social
assistance services , the data and information regard ing their activity in this field.

Art. 67 – The National Institute for Statistics, t ogether with the MLSS organise and ensure
the processing of the date related to social assistance, in order to sustain the development of
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strategies in this field, and publish annually, in the Stat istical Yearbook of Romania, the
social assistance indicators.

Art. 68 – (1) The present law comes into force on the 1 st of January 2002.
(2) The social assistance measures regulated by the present law shall be applicable at the dates
stipulated in special laws.

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