State child care in Romania: a University initiative to promote required change from within

This article describes a University initiative designed to promote social w ork training between the University of Ulster and the University of Transil vania, Romania and which involved exploratory visits to establish the condi tions of care for Romanian children. This had a particular impact on staff who were alarmed by the manifest deficiencies within the child care system. The article goes on to consider the obvious psychological impact of the de scribed conditions of cave and the political context of change in Romania. It argues for both the development and extension of social work training as a necessary humanitarian priority. Since the writing of this article, a su ccessful Tempus grant has been obtained, with which to support this project .