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. 

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Bethany Christian Services Global, LLC ,

This report provides initial documentation of a pilot program launched by Bethany Christian Services in 2009 in Ethiopia. The pilot aims at moving children from institutional care to family-based care by developing alternative family care for non-relative children using a foster-to-adopt approach, working through a partnership between faith communities in Ethiopia and American faith congregations in the US.

Partnerships for Every Child Moldova,

This graphic provides a visual representation of the causal framework of children’s institutionalization in Moldova. It was developed as part of the USAID/DCOF-funded project “Protecting children in Moldova from family separation, violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

Andy Bilson, Cath Larkins,

This paper provides details of research into the gatekeeping system in Bulgaria for children under three and examples from recent Bulgarian and international practice. It suggests that gatekeeping could benefit from a social development orientation including activities to combat poverty and promote social inclusion through supporting community and family strengths.

Sandra Knuiman, Catharina HAM Rijk, René AC Hoksbergen and Anneloes L Van Baar,

This article describes the historical background and current situation of the child welfare system for children without parental care in Poland.

Gwendolyn Burchell, Centre for Social Policy Development, ,

This paper presents an examination of the linkages between education and the deinstitutionalization of children in Azerbaijan. The paper explores the role of education in social policy and its interplay with economic policy; underlines the links needed between deinstitutionalization, inclusive education and alternative services; and examines how child protection can be understood in the context of inter-Ministerial responsibilities and coordination.

UNICEF,

In its 2013 State of the World’s Children Report, UNICEF has chosen to highlight the particular issues, needs, and circumstances of children with disabilities worldwide. The report includes a description of the common issues that children with disabilities face, models for inclusive policy and practice, and an agenda for action moving forward.

Center for Educational Research and Consulting and Save the Children ,

This report produced by the Center for Educational Research and Save the Children summarises a broader research study which examined the foster care pilot programme introduced in Armenia in 2005. The study aimed to find out if the pilot program succeeded, what problems arose, how the program could be improved and how foster care in Armenia could develop and expand effectively.

Partnerships for Every Child in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection, and Family and the Ministry of Education,

This issue No. 3-4 is one in a newsletter series concerning care reform in Moldova. The magazine was produced by Partnerships for Every Child (P4EC), an NGO in Moldova, with funding from the project, “Protecting children in Moldova from family separation, violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

N. Beth Bradford and Peter Evans ,

This Program Review documents the evolution of EveryChild/Partnerships for Every Child’s Program in Moldova since 1994, presenting the development of interventions to improve the lives of children through deinstitutionalization and identifying the best practices and lessons that may be relevant, useful, and replicable to other initiatives and organizations around the world.

Ian Anand Forber-Pratt, Stephanie Loo, Sara Price, and Jyoti Acharya ,

This article presents the findings of an exploratory survey of community perceptions about foster care conducted in Udaipur City, Rajasthan, India, in order to assess the prospects for implementing foster care as an alternative to the dominant system of institutional care available to orphaned and abandoned children in India.