Children Living or Working on the Street

Children living and working on the street are some of the most excluded and unprotected in the world. While some are homeless with their families, or return home at night after working on the street, many others are without parental care or a home and have no viable alternatives. This may be the result of family disintegration, conflict, poverty, HIV/AIDS, abuse or neglect. Life on the street exposes children to a myriad of risks and robs them of the safety and comfort that a family environment can offer.

Children living and working on the streets are highly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, addictions, and crime, and lack access to everyday essential services such as health and education. Their situation is made more difficult as a result of social perceptions of street children. Street children are frequently targeted by the police, beaten, held and charged without due process. Government policies, institutions, and communities may exclude or marginalise children on the street, and deny their basic human rights.

Children living and working on the streets require legal protection by the state, recognition of their rights, and access to public services. Reception and drop- in centres can provide an entry point to basic services, including shelter, food and health provision, education, and income generation projects. While such initiatives can help to sustain children on the street and protect them from high risk behaviours, organisations working with vulnerable children need to work towards preventative measures to reduce the numbers of children who end up homeless. Prevention begins with an assessment of the causes of family separation, identification of those most at risk, and strategies to support family and community placements.

The opinions and preferences of children already on the street must form an integral part of any strategy since the empowerment of such children is necessary to effect change in their own lives. Community reintegration services should be established where possible to provide children with an alternative to street life. All placements, such as kinship or foster care, must be regulated to ensure that they meet the needs of children and are in their best interests.

The resources in this section provide statistical and country information on the situation of children living and working on the street, assessments of their needs, and intervention examples relating to support services, care planning, and access to health and education programmes.

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Innocenti Adolescence Research Digest: Issue 2

Innocenti, 01 Jul 2016

This issue of Innocenti's Adolescence Research Digest includes recent news, events, and other updates as well as links to some of the latest research on adolescents and violence, health, education, street-connected youth and more.

Burundi-Société : La mendicité est un phénomène qui prend de l’ampleur dans la ville de Bujumbura

Government of Burundi, 09 Jun 2016

Cet article donne un bref aperçu de la question des mendiants et des enfants de la rue dans la ville de Bujumbura, au Burundi.

Article

Experiencing emotional and psychosocial support during preparation for re-integration: A study of street children under the care of Retrak Uganda

Paria Eslaminejad - Makerere University, 01 Jun 2016

This thesis investigates children’s experience of psychosocial and emotional support of (nonparental) caregivers in residential facilities in preparation for their re-integration into family based care.

Orphanhood and mistreatment drive children to leave home – A study from early AIDS-affected Kagera region, Tanzania

Jeanette Olsson, Staffan Höjer, Lennarth Nyström, Maria Emmelin - International Social Work, 31 May 2016

The aim of this mixed-method study was to explore the trajectories of leaving home, and views and experiences among children and youth in the Kagera region in Tanzania, who have lived on the streets or been domestic workers.

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Using Child Well-Being Assessments to Track Progress in Family-Based Reintegration

Su Lyn Corcoran, Joanna Wakia - Global Social Welfare, 16 Apr 2016

This paper reflects upon lessons learned by Retrak and explores the challenges and the benefits of developing a body of evidence on reintegration good practice.

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A Forgotten Population: Estimating the Number of Children Outside of Households in Cambodia

Beth L. Rubenstein, Lindsay Stark - Global Social Welfare, 14 Apr 2016

This manuscript reviews the issues facing children outside of households and argues for the importance of gathering robust data about this population to formulate responsive policies and services, mobilize resources, and foster accountability.

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Country Care Review: Kenya

Better Care Network, 21 Mar 2016

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Children on Their Own in Cambodia: Mailman School Study Looks at Youth Living in Orphanages and on the Streets

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 16 Feb 2016

A new video describes a Mailman School-led study to assess the size of the problem. Interspersed with footage of children in informal settlements and orphanages, researchers and officials describe the growth of residential care facilities in Cambodia, many which are operated or funded by foreign charities, including religious groups.

View the Press Release and Video

Summary Final Evaluation of "Reintegration of Street Children and Community-Based Child Protection in SNNPR, Ethiopia"

Tilahun Girma, Retrak, 01 Feb 2016

The goal of this final evaluation is to build on the mid-term review of a 3-year pilot community project established to address some of the push factors that were leading many children to come to the city of Addis Ababa from Ethiopia’s southern region (SNNPR).

Successful family reintegration of street-connected children: application of attachment and trauma theory

Anita Schrader-McMillan; Elsa Herrera - Journal of Children's Services; Vol. 11 Iss: 3, 2016

This is a 15 month qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with families and boys at three stages: preparing for return, in the first three months of reintegration and successfully reintegrated.