Ending Child Institutionalization

The detrimental effects of institutionalization on a child’s well-being are widely documented. Family based care alternatives such as kinship or foster care, are much more effective in providing care and protection for a child, and are sustainable options until family reunification can take place. The use of residential care should be strictly limited to specific cases where it may be necessary to provide temporary, specialized, quality care in a small group setting organized around the rights and needs of the child in a setting as close as possible to a family, and for the shortest possible period of time. The objective of such placement should be to contribute actively to the child’s reintegration with his/her family or, where this is not possible or in the best interests of the child, to secure his/her safe, stable, and nurturing care in an alternative family setting or supported independent living as young people transition to adulthood.

Countries which have traditionally relied on residential care are now undergoing major transformations to their child care and social welfare policies, in order to move towards family and community based care options. Such transformations are rooted in the research-based evidence of the impact of institutionalization on a child’s development, vulnerability to abuse within residential care settings, and the institution's high operational costs. It is therefore of great concern that the use of residential care is increasing in developing countries with high rates of HIV/AIDS. Such projects are typically funded by foreign donors to the detriment of the local population, and pressure should be placed on the host governments to pursue policies of family based care rather than residential care.

The use of residential care should be strictly limited to specific cases where it may be necessary to provide temporary, specialized, quality care in a small group setting organized around the rights and needs of the child in a setting as close as possible to a family, and for the shortest possible period of time. The objective of such placement should be to contribute actively to the child’s reintegration with his/her family or, where this is not possible or in the best interests of the child, to secure his/her safe, stable, and nurturing care in an alternative family setting or supported independent living as young people transition to adulthood.

Where the separation of parents and child is long-term, the alternative care arrangement should be family based to give the child a sense of security, continuity, stability and belonging by providing certainty on where the child will live for the rest of childhood and who the child’s parents or legal guardians will be. Keeping siblings, cousins and close friends together should be an important consideration in placement decisions. Adolescents, who may find integration into a new family difficult, may benefit from placement in supported independent living arrangements. These arrangements should be fully integrated in the community to which the children belong, with a comparable standard of living.

Any child in a residential care setting must have their needs assessed and planned for, to enable them to return to their families as soon as possible. If a child has become separated from her family in an emergency, documentation, tracing and reunification activities should begin urgently. If a child has been removed from parental care for her safety, support services should be provided to the parents in order to facilitate the return of the child. Children must be kept fully informed and involved in any plans for their care, and encouraged to maintain contact with known relatives where possible.

Residential care services must adhere to stringent standards of documentation and care and be regularly monitored by protection workers to ensure the children have their safety, health, psychosocial, and educational needs met.

The literature in this section deals with examples of countries which are working to develop their child care policies away from using residential care to alternative family care options such as kinship care, fostering, and adoption.

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Better Volunteering Better Care Excutive Summary

20 Nov 2014

This Excutive Summary is developed by the Better Volunteering Better Care

Meeting Report of the Uganda National Learning and Consultation Workshop

The Republic of Uganda, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development & Better Care Network, 12 Nov 2014

As part of its Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Initiative, BCN, along with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and the National Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) – an interagency platform of national child protection stakeholders - convened a national consultative workshop on 11 and 12 November 2014. This report from the workshop presents the priorities for action identified by the workshop participants, including: strengthening capacity for family strengthening and alternative care, evidence building and sharing, and strengthening advocacy.

Ending the Institutionalisation of Children: A Summary of Progress in Changing Systems of Care and Protection for Children in Moldova, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria

Lumos, 11 Nov 2014

This report presents a summary of progress in Lumos’ first three country demonstration programmes – the Republic of Moldova, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

Preventive Measures for Reducing the Placement of Children in Institutional Care - Croatia

Republic of Croatia Ministry of Social Policy and Youth, 10 Nov 2014

On 10 September 2014, UNICEF and the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria co-hosted a high level Lunchtime Discussion on The right of children below three years to live in a caring and supportive family environment: examples from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.The discussion took place on the margins of the September meeting of the UNICEF Executive Board and brought together over 80 participants, including members of the UNICEF Executive Board, representatives of the Permanent Missions to the UN from the CEE/CIS region, international organizations, NGOs, high level UNICEF and National Committee staff. Representatives from Croatia presented on preventing institutionalization of children.

Derecho Del Niño Y La Niña A La Familia. Cuidado Alternativo. Poniendo Fin A La Institucionalización En Las Américas

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), 10 Nov 2014

El presente Informe, por la Comisión Inter-Americana de los Derechos Humanos, establece los estándares aplicables en el derecho de los niños a vivir en una familia y formula una serie de recomendaciones concretas a los Estados para apoyar a las familias en sus responsabilidades de crianza.

Deinstitutionalization of residential institutions of social protection in Serbia

Republic Institute for Social Protection, 01 Nov 2014

This report gives an overview of implemented activities in the process of deinstitutionalization, identifying the main obstacles, effects, and achieved results. The overall objective of the report is to achieve greater understanding of the progress and shortcomings of the process of deinstitutionalization and transformation of social protection in Serbia, and to analyze relevant policies that will provide input for the creation of new measures for further support of the reform process of social protection in Serbia.

Orphanage Voluntourism in Nepal and its Links to the Displacement and Unnecessary Institutionalisation of Children

Martin Punaks and Katie Feit - Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond Volume 1, Number 2, 01 Sep 2014

This article argues that orphanage voluntourism fuels the displacement and trafficking of children from their families in Nepal and their unnecessary institutionalisation.

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What neuroscience and social science tell us about the effect of care environments on children

Dr. Kathryn Whetten & Dr. Charles Nelson, Christian Alliance for Orphans, 24 Aug 2014

This video features a segment of a talk on the effects of care environments on children, hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans. The key speakers featured include Dr. Kathryn Whetten & Dr. Charles Nelson, who discuss the Positive Outcomes for Orphans study (POFO) and the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), respectively.

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Meeting Report of the Regional Learning and Consultation Meeting: Strengthening Child Care Systems

Better Care Network, 19 Aug 2014

This report provides an overview of a two-day regional consultancy on strengthening child care systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Department of Social Welfare Capacity Building Plan to Implement The Guidelines for Children Without Appropriate Care: Rapid Context Assessment – Final Report

Maestral International - USAID, 22 Jul 2014

This Context Assessment, produced by Maestral International, aims to collect and review all relevant information to support the development of the Department of Social Welfare’s (DSW) institutional capacities to execute the new framework for alternative care in Liberia.