Serviciialternative.gov.md: a new portal for childcare services has been launched in Moldova with UNDP support

The platform provides information and updates on alternative childcare services and includes a wide range of useful resources, such as details on current legislation, practical guides for services implementation and essential information for parents and employers.

Following the adoption of Law No. 367/2022 in 2022, three types of alternative childcare services for children under three years old were introduced:

• Employer-provided childcare services at the workplace.

• Individualized childcare services.

• Family-type childcare services.

These services complement preschool and early education institutions and are not considered forms of social assistance.

UNDP has contributed to the development of two guides to assist both the persons interested in providing these services and parents who will benefit from them: "Guide for initiating family-type alternative childcare services" and "Parent Guide: What are alternative childcare services and how to benefit from them?".

Through its activities, UNDP supports public and private institutions to become more accessible and child-friendly. Recently, with UNDP financial support of 93,000 lei, safe and dedicated spaces for children have been set up in nine regional offices of the National Employment Agency and in four town halls, to ensure the safety of children accompanying their working parents or those seeking services from these public institutions.

Additionally, UNDP supports the public and private sectors in offering workplace childcare services. In this context, training sessions were organized in Cahul, Ungheni, and Strășeni, covering legal and sanitary aspects of creating nurseries within institutions and companies.

Over the past two years, UNDP has supported the "Alexei Mateevici" Pedagogical College in Chișinău in developing and accrediting the first professional training course for child caregivers. To date, 96 locals and refugee from Ukraine have successfully completed this programme. UNDP covered the costs for 41 participants, including 16 referred by the National Employment Agency.

Based on the experience of the Chișinău college, two other institutions, "Mihai Eminescu" College in Soroca and "Iulia Hasdeu" College in Cahul, have developed similar courses, which will be accredited this year and included in their respective curricula.

UNDP will continue to support the implementation of the National Programme for Early Child-Care for children under 3 years old, which aims to diversify and extend access to early childcare services and thus stimulate parents’ transition to the labour market, particularly for women.