COVID-19 triggered unprecedented disruption on a world-wide scale. Governments enforced far-ranging public health measures, including stay at home orders, curfews, and travel restrictions. These measures have had direct and indirect impacts on residential care providers and their supporters. To better understand the range of impacts of COVID-19 on the operations of residential care institutions including funding, staffing, volunteering, children’s care, education, family connection and reintegration, BCN and Griffith University with support from World Childhood Foundation, ACCIR and ERIK’s Development Partners, conducted a small- scale insights study. The study included in-depth interviews with directors and donors of privately run residential care institutions across 7 countries.
This webinar, the fifth in the Transforming Children's Care Webinar Series focused on this new study, Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run Residential Care Institutions: Insights and Implications for Advocacy and Awareness Raising. The study, comprising 21 semi-structured interviews across seven focus countries, explores the effect of COVID-19 on a small number of privately run and funded residential care institutions.
In this webinar, the researchers shared some of the key insights and implications from the study, including how COVID-19 has forced directors and donors to confront the sustainability and effectiveness of institutional models of care. The webinar also included a discussion on country level findings and implications from Thailand and links to national reform efforts, and how the insights are being used in faith-based donor facing advocacy work in Sweden.
