Doncel works to improve the lives of children and youth who live or lived in alternative care; with a focus on improving life opportunities of young people leaving the protection system. We want every boy, girl and adolescent in the country under the care of the State to live their lives In full exercise of their rights.
Doncel's objectives are: Guarantee children’s rights in the framework of the UNCRC; Develop models to work with children and young people that contribute to their development to their full potential; Promote practices that contribute to deinstitutionalisation processes of children and young people; continuously collaborate with other sectors, public and private, for cooperation and shared responsibility towards children and young people who lack proper care.
Doncel started in 2005 with a program to support young people who lived or had lived in residential/institutional care in Buenos Aires get their first jobs. Moved by the fact of adolescents and young people being made to leave alternative care at 18, with little preparation for independent living across the country, Doncel expanded its areas of work and scope. On one hand through the support to adolescents in care and care leavers on their transitions. This fostered the creation of the First group of peer-to-peer support, named “Guía Egreso”. Secondly, research to build evidence on the issues of adolescents in alternative care, leaving care and after-care life; and awareness-raising through advocacy strategies. The third area of work is capacity building of practitioners in the Child Protection Systems and care staff. At Doncel, staff and youth work together on these areas.
One major milestone in Doncel’s history is our contribution to the development and passing of Argentinian Law nº 27.364 in Support of Leaving Care in 2017. The development of the proposal was through a participatory process with care-experienced youth, and their participation was also key to the advocacy towards the passing of the Law.
Doncel Is also a founder and member of the Latin American Network of Care Leavers. The Network currently has over 20 members across 11 countries, and a Latin American Youth Committee with the participation of over 30 youth across the region.
Where they operate
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Headquarters Location
Avenida Corrientes 2560 1ºG 2do cuerpo
Ciudad de Buenos Aires
Argentina
Organization Type
Main Areas of Work
Guía Egreso Federal (National Leaving Care Guidance)
‘Guía Egreso’ (Leaving care Guidance) is the first group of adolescents and young people with care experience that acts as peer-support network and is an organized collective that promotes their rights.
They help other young people who, upon reaching the age of 18, must leave the institution where they live and make their way towards an independent life. Based on their own experiences, they provide support, information and guidance.
As a youth group, they are organized to defend all the rights of youth and especially to make visible how they live and what adolescents and young people without family care need. They also participate and influence different spaces so that there are better responses to their problems, through public policies and other measures and State interventions. They also raise-awareness through press and comms.
Advocacy
Leaving Care Policies: On May 31, 2017, the National Congress unanimously passed National Law 27,364 in both chambers, a pioneering law in the Latin American region, which recognizes equal rights for young people who lived in the care system to those who live with their families. This constituted an advance in the recognition of the responsibility of the State and the right to the progressive acquisition of autonomy of adolescents and young people.
- The Law was promoted by DONCEL and other civil society organizations, with a large role of young people who demanded that the State extend their protection until they are 21 years old. The Law creates a Program in Support of Leaving Care (PAE). Doncel is currently dedicated to disseminating the Program through multiple advocacy activities (talks, festivals, journalistic notes) to guarantee its correct implementation throughout the country. In addition, Doncel promoted the publication of information on the performance of the program and an evaluation of the program with the participation of the actors involved in its execution and the ‘beneficiaries’ and target populations.
- https://doncel.org.ar/2018/11/19/ley-nacional-27-364-programa-de-acompa… - http://reporte2020.doncel.org.ar/quehicimos.html - CRC: Doncel is a member of the Argentinian Collective of children’s Rights. (Colectivo de los Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia). Doncel works with the Collective on the periodic revisions of the CRC to the Argentinian State.
- Children and youth participation: Doncel promotes and supports the formalisation of children and youth participation at different leveles. Among other actions, Doncel foster dialogues that bring together authorities and young people.
- Care Reform: Doncel is advocating at the national level to shift the alternative care system from its model based on residential/institutional care facilities towards the development of family and community-based alternatives. In addition, Doncel, together with partners such as Unicef and Aldeas Infantiles SOS, developed monitoring tools for residential care facilities based on children’s rights framework to assess the quality of care.
Research
Through the Observatory of the Law in support of Leaving Care and the rights of young people without parental care, we carry out multiple investigations that seek, through the participation of civil society and youth, to monitor and generate contributions and proposals to improve the alternative care system. Currently, 6 investigations were carried out with multiple themes (impact of COVID-19 on young people and on the protection system; gender inequalities, right to family and community life; learnings from the pandemic; among others).
https://doncel.org.ar/2020/09/24/observatorio/
Doncel has undertaken investigations with the participation of young people as youth researchers or through peer-led methodologies: Construyendo Autonomía (2015), Solos Contra el Afuera (2018), Más Autonomía, Más Derechos (2020).
Capacity Building
Doncel undertakes capacity building actions oriented to staff and directors at residential care facilities, Ngo’s, Public agencies and individuals or organisations keen to implement or strengthen work towards youth empowerment.
Some of the most recent courses were on leaving care amidst the pandemic, and diversity in alternative care.
Doncel is a Centre for Practice for Social Work students at the University of Buenos Aires.
Latin American Network of Care Leavers
Doncel is a founder and an active Member of the Latin American Network of Care Leavers, with current roles on the Directive Committee and technical assistance at the Network.
We asked this organization to tell us a little more about their learning and knowledge sharing practices. Here is what they said
We are proud of our work with young people: the promotion of adolescents and youth participation, peer-led and peer-to-peer methodologies.
Organization Resources
Este trabajo pretende identificar los principales problemas que enfrentan los países de la región en relación al tema y desarrolla someramente algunos de los estándares de derechos humanos que deben ser observados, con el objetivo de contribuir sustancialmente a la adecuación de los sistemas de protección en lo que refiere a la utilización de la internación de los niños, niñas y adolescentes en las instituciones de protección.
Esta página de Doncel presenta una panorama general de la "Ley de Egreso" que establece nuevos derechos para jóvenes sin cuidados parentales en Argentina.