Children Affected by Poverty and Social Exclusion

Around the world, poverty and social exclusion are driving factors behind the placement of children into alternative care. Families give up their children because they are too poor to care for them, or they feel that it is the best way to help them to access basic services such as education and health care. Discrimination and cultural taboos mean that girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, children with HIV/AIDS and children born out of wedlock, make up a disproportionate number of children abandoned into alternative care.

Poor-quality alternative care leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and inequality. With limited family-based alternative care options in many countries, children often end up in institutional care. Already marginalized by poverty or stigmatization, they risk becoming further excluded from society, as they grow up separated from their families and communities. In the worst cases, inadequate or unsafe care standards expose them to neglect, violence and abuse. When they eventually leave institutional care, young adults may then struggle to reintegrate into their communities and face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, chronic poverty, depression and even suicide.

Greater political and financial commitment is needed to tackle the poverty and social exclusion that drives families to give up their children. This includes wide-ranging measures to combat poverty, discrimination and stigmatization, to change attitudes towards single parenthood and disability, and to adopt social policies promoting family empowerment and parenting skills. Greater priority must also be given to developing good-quality family-based care options, such as foster care and adoption, for the girls and boys who need alternative families.

The documents in this section examine the relationship between poverty, social exclusion and placement of children in alternative care.

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History of Foster Care among Homeless Adults with Mental Illness in Vancouver, British Columbia: A Precursor to Trajectories of Risk

Michelle L Patterson, Akm Moniruzzaman, Julian M Somers - BMC Psychiatry , 26 Feb 2015

This study examines the relationship between foster care placement as a predictor of adult substance use disorders (including frequency, severity and type), mental illness, vocational functioning, service use and duration of homelessness among a sample of homeless adults with mental illness.

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Beyond CPS: Developing an Effective System for Helping Children in “Neglectful” Families

Michael S. Wald - Child Abuse & Neglect 41 (2015) , 11 Feb 2015

In this article, the author addresses the topic of child neglect, or allegations thereof, as it relates to children and families in the Child Welfare System in the United States.

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“The love that I was missing”: Exploring the lived experience of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care

Elizabeth Aparicioa, Edward V. Pecukonisa, Shalita O'Nealeb - Children and Youth Services Review, 10 Feb 2015

The present study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences and meaning of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care in the United States.

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Effect of Maternal Deprivation on Child Development: A Comparative Study Between Orphanage and Urban Slum Children in Odisha

Sourajit Routray, Nijwm Mahilary and Rajkumar Paul - International Journal of Bioassays , 21 Jan 2015

This study compares the development of children living in orphanages with that of children living in slums with their biological parents in Odisha, India.

Fact Sheet for Tribal Child Welfare Officials

Children’s Bureau , 2015

This factsheet looks at whether States in the US are following best practices in regards to the Indian Child Welfare Act, such as notification of Tribes and placement preferences. Findings from the Reviews are presented.

Impact of Rural-Urban Labour Migration on Education of Children: A Case Study of Left Behind and Accompanied Migrant Children in India

Dr Archana K Roy, Pappu Singh, and Prof. UN Roy - Space and Culture, India 2015, 2:4, 2015

This paper explores the impact of temporary labour migration of parent(s) on school attendance of children between 6–14 years and their dropping out from school through an analysis of cases from both ends of the migration stream in India - children accompanying their migrant parents and children left behind.

Creating Places Of Belonging: Expanding Notions Of Permanency With Indigenous Youth In Care

Sandrina de Finney, Lara di Tomasso - The First Peoples Child and Family Review Vol 10, No 1 (2015) , 2015

This paper calls for creative pathways of engagement that delineate places of belonging for and with Indigenous youth in care.

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Exploring the Appropriateness of Institutionalized Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in the Era of HIV/AIDS: Examples from South Africa and Botswana

Dudzai Nyamutinga and S. M. Kang’ethe - Journal of Human Ecology , 2015

The present study aimed to evaluate and discuss the appropriateness of institutions caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in the face of HIV/AIDS through a systematic literature review.

Children First: Better Public Spending for Better Outcomes for Children & Families - Eurochild Conference Report

Eurochild, 2015

This report summarizes the discussions and activities held at Eurochild’s 11th Annual Conference, co-hosted by Hope and Homes for Children in Bucharest, Romania on 26-28 November 2014.

South African Child Gauge 2015

De Lannoy A, Swartz S, Lake L & Smith C (eds) 2015 - Children's Institute, University of Cape Town, 2015

The South African Child Gauge is the only publication in the country that provides an annual snap-shot of the status of South Africa’s children.

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