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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Robin N. Haarr ,

This study on violence against children in state-run residential institutions in Kazakhstan was conducted under the national Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and UNICEF. Data was collected from six different types of state run- residential institutions for children in 3 regions using a multi-methods approach, including surveys with children ( 9-18 years old) and staffs, and interviews with young people (17-23 years old) who had left the care of these institutions.

Ofsted,

This report analyzes how a small sample of 12 children’s homes in England achieved and sustained outstanding status over a period of three years. The report describes and interprets what inspectors found to be the reasons for success in these outstanding homes and how the providers themselves explained the factors that contribute to outstanding care. The experience of the children and young people who live in these homes is also a key element of the report as it is, of course, the real hallmark of quality.

UNICEF ,

Particularly relevant to alternative care issues is the highlighted section on the Bulgarian experience of integrating advocacy, fundraising and communication in order to influence the deinstitutionalization of children without parental care in Bulgaria.

Adrian V. Rus, Sheri Parris, David Cross, Karyn Purvis, Simona Draghici - Revista de cercetare si interventie social,

This article reviews the series of major changes undergone by the Romanian child welfare system from 1990 to 2010, including the laws and governmental reform measures enacted, the shift in child population among various Romanian institutions and foster care homes, types of institutions available to children, level of care, shift in reasons for child abandonment, changes in ways children are routed through the system, and how these changes have effect children’s development, health, and psychological well-being.

Save the Children ,

This situational analysis was commissioned by the Child Protection Initiative as a preliminary exercise to develop evidence-based recommendations to guide Save the Children in the Philippines to develop interventions. Priority areas are children in residential care, children in armed conflict and disasters, children in situations of migration (including for trafficking purposes), and children in exploitative and hazardous work conditions.

Nirekha De Silva and Asitha G. Punchihewa ,

This research on the institutionalization of children in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka was carried out by Save the Children with the support of the Department of Probation and Children Care Services and National Institute of Social Development.

The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), Rwanda,

This brief was prepared by the Rwandan Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), requesting the Cabinet to approve the proposed child care reform strategy and to support its implementation.

World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank,

The first ever World report on disability, produced jointly by WHO and the World Bank, suggests that more than a billion people in the world today experience disability. This report provides the best available evidence about what works to overcome barriers to health care, rehabilitation, education, employment, and support services, and to create the environments which will enable people with disabilities to flourish. The report ends with a concrete set of recommended actions for governments and their partners.

Dainius Puras - The Regional Office for Europe of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ROE OHCHR),

This document was commissioned by the Regional Office for Europe of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (ROE OHCHR). One of its aims was to stimulate discussion at the Sub-Regional Workshop on the Rights of Vulnerable Children Aged 0 to 3 Years in Prague on 22 November 2011.

Louise Melville Fulford,

This manual offers a training session targeted at policy makers, professionals and paraprofessionals who are already working on programs to support children without appropriate care, or who may begin work in this area. This workshop focuses on children in developing contexts, who require support within their families and those who need an alternative care placement.