Reality Check’s mission is to support programs and public policies that are smart, with impact, designed for citizens, and are applied correctly and efficiently. The organization’s main field of expertise is social inclusion of the most impoverished children and their families.
Led by former OvidiuRo director Alina Seghedi, Asociația Reality Check was founded in 2017 by a group of young Romanian professionals with extensive experience in nonprofit management, business, research and public administration.
In February 2019, with support from The Alex Fund, Reality Check started to work with public authorities and members of Parliament to amend Law 248/2015, which incentivizes impoverished children to go to preschool through food coupons conditional on attendance. To ensure full implementation of the Fiecare Copil in Grădiniță law, Reality Check, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor, drafted amendments to make it easier for families to apply for assistance and to require local administrators, social workers, and teachers to fully comply with the law.
The legislation, submitted to Parliament in June of 2019 by Deputy Florin Manole was passed in the Chamber of Deputies almost unanimously in March of 2020, and promulgated by President Iohannis in April. The changes are contained in the new Law 49/2020. Approximately 100,000 poor children will be helped annually to attend kindergarten regularly. Reality Check currently works together with public authorities to get the methodological norms done as fast as possible in order for the law to take effect starting January 1st 2021, as planned.
The amendments:
- Expand the target audience and ease the application process;
- Increase the food coupon amount from 50 to 100 lei per child per month;
- Require mayors and school directors to organize information and enrollment campaigns twice a year.
Reality Check also supports several community development projects, including two projects that were originated by OvidiuRo:
- Ponorâta village, Maramureș county: provides children with a daily warm meal, school supplies, clothes & shoes; food coupons conditional on regular school attendance; house repairs for 20 families; and a public bath and washing facility.
- Castelu village, Constanța county: offers education through sports for 400 children and medical assistance for vulnerable children and families.
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