Child Care and Protection Policies

Child care and protection policies regulate the care of children, including the type of support and assistance to be offered, good practice guidelines for the implementation of services, standards for care, and adequate provisions for implementation. They relate to the care a child receives at and away from home.

States and all organisations with child care programmes should have child care policies which are in line with national legislation and international law, e.g. the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In line with the CRC, emphasis should be placed on the child’s best interests, with support to families prioritised in order to prevent family separation. Good gatekeeping mechanisms are essential in ensuring families receive the services they need and are entitled to, and to guard against inappropriate placement into poor care arrangements.

Home-based care, day care, and other family support services are mechanisms for assisting families in providing for the child’s development and, when used appropriately, can prevent child separation. When a child is unable to remain at home, alternative forms of community based care should be prioritised, such as formal kinship care or foster care. The use of institutions should be highlighted as a last and temporary measure. All support and care provisions should outline the referral and admission process, the use of care plans, regular reviews, rehabilitation, and aftercare procedures.

Child protection legislation which recognises that abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect, and may be carried out by parents, caretakers, children and other adults is required. All agencies working with children should have written child protection policies which respect the rights of the child. Policies should outline behaviours and actions which are unacceptable, provide standards for the appropriate care of children, and clear guidelines on what procedures to follow and by whom, including reporting mechanisms for suspected abuse to an assigned authority for investigation.

Child care and protection policies require resources and monitoring of standards to ensure their appropriate implementation. Adequate provision and training of child care and social work staff is required to deliver family support services and alternatives forms of child care. All staff working with children should be trained and supervised in providing appropriate care for children, identifying abuse, and responding appropriately.

The literature in this section contains country reports and examples of national and organisational child care and protection policies.

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Country Care Review: Holy See

Better Care Network, 30 Jan 2014

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its examination of the second periodic report of the Holy See under Convention on the Rights of the Child at its sixty-fifth Session (13 Jan 2014 - 31 Jan 2014).

From Institutional Care to Family Support: Development of an Effective Early Intervention Network in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russian Federation

Dana E. Johnson, Svyatoslav V. Dovbnya, Tatiana U. Morozova, Melinda A. Richards and Julia G. Bogdanova, 22 Jan 2014

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article documents an initiative to establish a replicable professional model that would direct the child welfare system in the Nizhny Novgorod Region away from institutional care and toward services for young children and their families that reduce the risk of institutionalization.

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Foster Care in India: Policy Brief

Jayna Kothari and Rajgopal Saikumar, 17 Jan 2014

This policy brief reviews the legal framework for foster care in India, including an analysis of the current provisions of foster care along with the rules and schemes on foster care framed by states in India, with a focus on Delhi and Goa.

Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014

World Health Organization , 2014

This report from the World Health Organization provides an overview of the progress countries have made in implementing the recommendations set out in the World Report on Violence and Health in 2002.

A Solid Investment: Integrating Children Without Parental Care into the Post-2015 Development Framework

SOS Children’s Villages, 2014

In this paper, SOS Children’s Villages demonstrates how children who lack or are at risk of losing parental care are highly vulnerable to various forms of poverty and inequality. The paper proposes operational strategies for action as well as targets and indicators designed to monitor progress among these children.

The Revised Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): A Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government – Civil Society Partnership - India

Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India, 2014

The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) of India outlines, and contributes to the implementation of, the Government’s responsibility to establish an effective and efficient child protection system.

Lluís Flaquer - Handbook of Child Well-Being, 2014

The purpose of this integrative chapter on well-being and the family is to present the analysis of a number of family-based factors that can influence child well-being.

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MenCare Sri Lanka Short Film

MenCare Sri Lanka, 2014

This moving short film (7 mins) produced by MenCare examines the circumstance of one man who found himself as the primary caregiver to his children when his female partner moved abroad for work.

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Positioning Violence against Children on the Global Agenda

World Vision & Child Frontiers, 2014

World Vision is publishing this paper to inform current strategic discussions which seek to ensure that ending violence against children (VAC) remains on the post 2015 global development agenda.

The Best Interests of the Child in Intercountry Adoption

Nigel Cantwell, UNICEF, 2014

This study, conducted by Nigel Cantwell and UNICEF, seeks to answer the question: “what is it that enables a policy, process, decision or practice to be qualified as either respectful or in violation of the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption?”