Non-Formal Mechanisms for Children's Care and Protection

In many countries children without adequate family care are supported within non-formal care arrangements.  This typically involves the care of a child by a relative (kinship care), or someone close to the family (informal foster care), without any legal proceedings or regulation by the State.  In some cases, children may also live on their own without adult carers within a child-headed household.

Displaying 1 - 10 of 63

Tyreasa Washington, C. Joy Stewart, Roderick A. Rose - Child Development,

The aim of this study was to examine the academic trajectories of children in out-of-home care (OOCH) and whether kinship care has a protective effect relative to nonkin foster care.

Kenneth Burns, Conor O’Mahony, Rebekah Brennan - The British Journal of Social Work,

This article explores evidence which shows that the use of ‘private family arrangements’ is motivated partly by a concern for subsidiarity, and partly by necessity: they provide a source of placements in cases where regulatory requirements and a lack of resources would otherwise make the placement challenging or impossible.

Victoria Sharley, Emma Leonard, Janetta Ananias, Heather Ottaway - Children and Youth Services Review,

This paper reports the findings from a small qualitative study into child fosterage undertaken in Namibia in 2019.

Alhassan Abdullah, Ebenezer Cudjoe, Esmeranda Manful - Child & Family Social Work,

There is little empirical evidence on how to improve the well‐being and safety of children in informal kinship care in Ghana. Thus, this study reports findings from in‐depth interviews with 15 young people, 18 to 23 years, from Banda—an ethnic group where informal kinship care is an accepted cultural practice.

Jill Brown, Abril Rangel-Pacheco, Olivia Kennedy, Ndumba Kamwanyah - Parents and Caregivers Across Cultures,

This chapter examines the cultural logic of child care in Africa, focusing on one variation of fosterage, okutekula, among the Ova-ambo in Northern Namibia.

Sherri C Widen, Marlene Orozco, Eileen Lai Horng, Susanna Loeb - Journal of Early Childhood Research,

The authors of this study conducted a qualitative 2-year study to investigate informal caregivers’ motivations, assets, and needs.

Lee, Eunju; Kramer, Catherine; Choi, Mi Jin; Pestine-Stevens, Althea; Huang, Yufan - Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics,

This article explores the extent of previous child welfare involvement and its association with well-being among children in informal kinship care.

Charles Dziro - Emerging Adulthood,

This article examines the challenges encountered by, and the opportunities available to, young adults as they transition from informal kinship-based foster care to independent living in the Bikita District of Zimbabwe.

Erica Newman - AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples,

This article investigates the colonialist definitions of the terms “orphan” and “adoption”, contrasting them with how the traditional practice of child circulation in Fiji cared for orphaned children.

Nolwazi Mkhwanazi, Tawanda Makusha, Deidre Blackie, Lenore Manderson, Katharine Hall and Mayke Huijbregts - South African Child Gauge 2018,

This chapter from the South African Child Gauge 2018 focuses on childcare and children’s caregivers in South Africa and aims to address the following questions: Who provides care for children? How does the state support or undermine care choices? Why and how should the state support caregivers?