Deinstitutionalisation (DI) is essential for care reform for any country. The process of DI is implied in Ghana’s laws, policies, and guidelines on childcare. The absence of a DI practice model in Ghana contributes partly to the barriers to implementing the Care Reform Initiative (CRI). It is recorded in the mapping of Residential Homes for Children (RHC) in Ghana (2018), conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and UNICEF, that several closed homes reopen and operate because Social Welfare Officers (SWO) are unable to force closure without access to or knowledge of alternative care provisions.
The aim of this DI model is to give guidance and a clear, practical approach for deinstitutionalisation for RHC in Ghana. This practice model intends to be:
• A guide to organisational change for RHC
• A guide to the process of placing children into family-based care
• A source of implementation tools to ensure quality assessment and provision of alternative childcare
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