Community Based Care Mechanisms

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care for Children highlight the importance of providing children with care within family-type settings in their own communities. This allows girls and boys to maintain ties with natural support networks such as relatives, friends and neighbours, and minimizes disruption to their education, cultural and social life. Keeping children within their communities (ideally as close as possible to their original homes), also allows girls and boys to stay in touch with their families, and facilitates potential reintegration.

Examples from around the world demonstrate that there are many ways children without adequate family care can be supported within their own communities. This includes both formal and informal arrangements such as foster care, kinship care, domestic adoption/Kafala, guardianship, supervised independent living, child-headed households and small group homes.

These practices can be supported through a range of formal measures including social protection schemes (e.g. child sensitive cash transfers), family strengthening services, community based rehabilitation services for children with disabilities, respite care, training for caregivers, and policies that support families in alternative care-taking roles. Increasing access to free education and health services, and establishing social assistance programmes to reduce poverty, can also help the poorest caregivers to support children within the community.

In the absence of well-developed care and child protection systems in many countries, community based mechanisms can also play a key role supporting children and caretakers in alternative care situations. Child protection Committees, faith based organizations, civil society groups, volunteer associations and other community based groups can provide financial or practical support through schemes that help to fund children’s education or health costs, link them to support services or social assistance schemes, and provide mentorship and family counseling. Home visits and caretaker support groups can also play a valuable role, while awareness raising efforts to promote children’s rights (particularly if supported by community and religious leaders), can help to reduce discrimination against girls and boys in alternative care arrangements – particularly those with disabilities or from minority groups.

As long as they are not over-burdened or given responsibilities beyond their competence, community-based groups can provide vital support to children in alternative care situations. Often however, they are hampered by weak organizational procedures, limited technical capacity and poor coordination. Continued efforts by governments, NGOs and international agencies are needed to promote their institutional development and to enhance their ability to support children.

The literature in this section describes a range of care arrangements that enable children to receive adequate care within their own communities, and community support initiatives that help to sustain them.

Displaying 161 - 170 of 303

Browse Other Topics

Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Crisis, the Interventions, and the Anthropologist

Bright Drah , 2013

In this paper, the author argues that the response to the orphan crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has focused mainly on mobilizing and distributing material resources to households with orphans. Only a few anthropologists have interrogated the frameworks and values on which the projects for orphans are based. The paper provides an analysis of the trends in foster-care research in Africa and the author suggests that current ethnographic data on foster-care practices do not adequately reflect the changing context of fostering in that continent.

View Article

What Works in Tackling Child Abuse and Neglect? A Manual for Policy Makers, Managers, and Professionals

Tinje Berge-Le Clercg, Mariska de Batt from the Netherlands Youth Institute, 2013

This manual is the main outcome of the European Commission Daphne III programme, Prevent and Combat Child Abuse: What works? Involving regional exchanges and research from five countries (Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands), this manual brings together knowledge on what works in tackling child abuse. The manual suggests evidence and practice-based prevention and response strategies against child abuse and neglect, including programs and services that have been shown to be successful in strengthening family care.

Men who Care: A multi-country qualitative study of men in non- traditional caregiving roles

Men & Gender Equality Project, 31 Dec 2012

A report examining the experiences and attitudes of men involved in non-traditional care activities and roles in Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico, and South Africa.

Belarus: System of Detection, Intervention, Care, and Rehabilitation of Children Under 3 with Special Needs

Elena Bogdan, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus, 22 Nov 2012

This presentation to the 2012 Sofia Conference introduces social services available in Belarus for the identification, intervention, care, and rehabilitation of children under the age of 3 with disabilities, in order to prevent their abandonment and placement in institutions.

Deinstitutionalization of Children in Bulgaria: Real and Irreversible

Darinka Yankova, Deputy Chairperson of the State Agency for Child Protection, 21 Nov 2012

This presentation to the 2012 Sofia Conference by Darinka Yankova, Deputy Chairperson of the State Agency for Child Protection addresses the challenges and the new vision for the deinstitutionalization of children in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Moldova: Cooperation Between Ministries in Preventing Infant Mortality and Child Institutionalization

Valentina Buliga, Minister of Labor in Moldova, Social Protection and Family, 20 Nov 2012

This presentation to the 2012 Sofia Conference by Valentina Buliga, Minister of Labor in Moldova, Social Protection and Family, introduces Moldova's ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor to reduce infant mortality and the placement of children under the age of 3 in institutions.

Cost-effectiveness of models of care quality for children affected by HIV and AIDS in Nepal

Pradhan PM, Bhatta G, Bam K , 01 Nov 2012

This research study aimed to identify and assess the cost effectiveness for existing models of care for children affected by HIV and AIDS in Nepal. The study performed a cost effective analysis for three types of care models in order to provide program managers and childcare professionals comparative economic evidence of the cost of caring for these children.

Child Care Reform in Georgia: Update on Progress of Ending the Use of Large Institutional Care for Children

UNICEF , 01 Nov 2012

The document highlights the recent child care reform in Georgia under the partnership of the Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia and UNICEF and provides an update on progress of ending the use of large institutions care for children.

Common European Guidelines on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care

European Expert Group on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care, 01 Nov 2012

The Common European Guidelines on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care (‘the Guidelines’) provide practical advice about how to make a sustained transition from institutional care to family-based and community-based alternatives for individuals (including children) currently living in institutions and those living in the community, often without adequate support.

De-institutionalisation: Myth Buster

Eurochild and Hope and Homes for Children, 10 Oct 2012

This briefing paper seeks to address key misunderstandings about de-institutionalisation. It explains what it is and what it is not and addresses key questions often asked about the need for such institutions, the role they play and the impact of this transformation and what it entails.