EMBRACE turns school mental health pilot into policy push in Romania

A Romania-based project on children's emotional well-being says it has built and tested a school intervention model across 10 schools in the country’s northeast, reaching children, parents and professionals from January 2025 through June 2026. The effort now aims to shape national policy on school mental health, teacher training and child participation.

Why it matters: - Romania’s school mental health gap is already showing up in national data. UNICEF Romania reports that 1 in 4 students is at risk of a mental health problem, 1 in 3 reports frequent anxiety, and 1 in 4 has thoughts or behaviors related to self-harm. - EMBRACE was designed to move beyond pilot programming and into a usable model for public policy on children's emotional well-being. - The project focused on vulnerable communities in Romania’s northeast, where school-based support can reach children, parents and teachers together.

What happened: - EMBRACE ran from January 2025 through June 2026. - The project had a budget of €465,667.67. - The European Commission funded the work through the CERV-CHILD 2024 program. - Fundatia Serviciilor Sociale Bethany coordinated the consortium. - Partners included Fundatia de Sprijin Comunitar, Asociatia "Bună Ziua, Copii din România", Federatia Organizatiilor Neguvernamentale pentru Copil, and Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL. - Support came from county school inspectorates in Iași and Vaslui, CJRAE Iași and Vaslui, DGASPC Bacău, local authorities in pilot communities, and 10 pilot schools across Iași, Bacău and Vaslui counties. - The project tested a school curriculum built around five modules on physical health, cognitive well-being, emotional regulation, values and identity, and relationships and social integration. - The curriculum included 15 sessions adapted for elementary, middle school and high school students.

The details: - 528 children completed all five modules across 10 schools in small urban and rural communities. - 374 parents joined emotional literacy sessions. - 140 professionals received training on children's mental health, well-being, resilience and protection. - The project produced a toolkit with 45 mental health education lessons and more than 60 multimedia materials for all school ages. - Student-led well-being awareness campaigns ran across all 10 partner schools. - Social media outreach and the #KnowEmotions campaign reached more than 38,000 people. - The EMBRACE Children and Youth Forum took place in Bucharest on Oct. 17–18, 2025. - More than 130 children and young people from Iași, Bârlad, Bacău, Brașov, Petroșani and Bucharest attended the forum. - The forum ended with an open letter to Romania’s president, prime minister, minister of education and research, and minister of health. - The letter called for a three-year national plan for children's mental health in schools with a dedicated budget, clear responsibilities and measurable targets. - The letter also asked for four minimum measures this year: teacher training, access to counseling, a functioning anti-bullying procedure and at least one mechanism for active child participation. - The children also sought an annual public report from the prime minister on actions, locations and results. - The letter called for ongoing child participation in monitoring and improving policy. - The EMBRACE Regional Conference took place in Iași on May 14, 2026, at Hotel Unirea. - More than 100 specialists from education, mental health, child protection, academia and the nonprofit sector joined the conference, along with authorities and young people. - Participants identified three systemic gaps: the absence of an integrated national strategy, insufficient teacher preparation and a school culture that does not treat emotional safety as a condition for learning.

Between the lines: - The project’s structure points to a broader policy argument: children's emotional well-being cannot be handled by schools alone and needs coordination across education, health, child protection and local government. - The child-led forum and open letter suggest the project is trying to convert participation into formal policy pressure, not just awareness-raising. - Beatrice Darie, director of programs at Bethany Social Services Foundation, said the practices and solutions already exist in schools, organizations and communities, but what is missing is a shared framework and institutional will.

What's next: - EMBRACE is now positioning its recommendations for the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, local authorities and European partners. - The recommendations are organized around four priorities: institutional recognition, sustainable funding, child participation and a cross-sector approach. - Project resources, including educational materials, guides and tools for teachers, counselors and parents, are available at the project website. - More project information is also available at embrace-future.eu. - The project is identified as 101190161 — EMBRACE — CERV-2024-CHILD.

The bottom line: - EMBRACE built a tested school-based mental health model and is now trying to turn it into national policy for Romania’s children.