On 15-17 February 2007 in Chisinau it has been organized a workshop “Reestablishing the relationship between the released persons and the community”.
The workshop has been organized by the Institute for Penal Reform financed by Soros-Moldova Foundation and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), aiming at identifying the practical mechanism of interaction among the centers for social reintegration and the service for preparing the release from prisons and the rest of the institutions providing assistance from the community.
The participants of the workshop – representatives of the community justice centers from the republic, counselors for probation and employees of prisons in their presentations have identified more problems, which are to be dealt with. For instance, detention conditions should be improved, the relationship between the prisons and the community should be increased, the fluctuation of the staff should be stopped, the system of social services should be reviewed, in order to solve the problems of the released persons etc. These are only few aspects for which solutions have been sought. In this context, the 9 community justice centers which are to be founded by IRP, would have the primary role in reestablishing the relationship between the ex-detainees and the community.
The international experts, Mrs. Carmen Fiscuci, program coordinator at “Prison Fellowship” Foundation from Romania and Mrs. Doina Bobos, head of the Probation Service in Cluj-Napoca district (Romania) have reported about the role of the society in the activity for social reintegration of the released persons and about the organization of the system for assistance, counseling and supervision of the released persons in Romania subsequently. Both after reporting and during the whole workshop the participants have put different questions to experts, trying to find as more connections as possible between their own activity and the experience of their colleagues from Romania.
The participants of the workshop have unanimously agreed that such meetings were useful enough, and the close perspective involves focusing more clearly the efforts for an efficient problems setting up, encountered by those who are to be released. Among the workshop achievements it could be underlined: drawing up a plan of interaction with the prisons which participated at the process of social reintegration of the released persons, involving volunteers and internal organization of the center.
