Uganda

Cora Morgan, the children's advocate for Manitoba First Nations, says some child-welfare agencies are breaking the law and discriminating against indigenous family members. She claims some agencies are ignoring capable relatives who could care for children who are taken into care, and are instead placing them in the care of strangers.

U.S. President Barack Obama issued executive orders that ban the use of solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.

Lumos, an international non-profit organisation founded by J.K. Rowling to help countries reform their services for disadvantaged children, has begun working with partners in Greece to help bring about reforms for institutionalised children. Lumos hosted a conference in Athens supporting deinstitutionalisation in Greece which was attended by over 70 policymakers, children’s welfare professionals, and civil society delegates. 

This study tests the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Family Needs Scale using sample of 303 informal kinship families recruited through local child welfare and social services in New York, USA.

Children’s ombudsmen from 33 countries sent a letter to the European Union urging the European Union and Council of Europe to act to protect child asylum seekers in Europe, who are a very vulnerable group.

The CDC released a groundbreaking report that estimates the global burden of violence against children under 18 for each region of the world. This report is entitled “Global Prevalence of Past-Year Violence Against Children: A Systematic Review and Minimum Estimates,” and it combines data from 38 reports covering 96 countries.

It is estimated that 30% of the migrants and refugees who have entered Europe by sea over the last year are children. In January 2016, about six times as many people have arrived by sea in Europe compared to January 2015. As these numbers continue to climb, this article reflects on the importance of play for these children, even in their challenging circumstances.

This study used cross-sectional data from 1848 South African children aged 9–13 to address three questions: whether CBOs are reaching those who are most vulnerable, whether attending these organizations is associated with greater psychosocial wellbeing, and how they might work.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) have the potential to provide high quality services for orphaned and vulnerable children in resource-limited settings.

Lumos and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission (DG DEVCO) will host a conference on Supporting families globally: Ending the institutionalisation of children. The conference will take place 20 January 2016 from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM CET. It will be held at External Cooperation InfoPoint, Rue de la Loi 43-45, Bruxelles, Belgium.