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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Better Care Network, 22 Jul 2013

India submitted its third and fourth combined report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Guinea Bissau

Better Care Network, 08 Jul 2013

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 during the sixty-third session (27 May-14 June 2013) of Guinea Bissau’s second through fourth periodic reports to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.

Country Care Review: Israel

Better Care Network, 04 Jul 2013

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 during the sixty-third session (27 May-14 June 2013) of Israel’s second to fourth periodic reports to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.

Guide to registration for children's social care services

Ofsted, 01 Jul 2013

This guide provides professionals in the UK with information about registering as a children’s social care provider. It helps those considering registration to decide whether to apply and what processes their applications will go through before a decision is made as to their suitability to be registered.

Permanency for Children: The Development of the BCS Global Foster-to-Adopt Pilot Project in Ethiopia

Bethany Christian Services Global, LLC , 01 Jul 2013

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.

Goa, India: The Foster Care Scheme- Vatsalya

The Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Goa , 01 Jul 2013

The state cabinet of Goa in India has approved a foster care scheme to assist children deprived of parental care or of the care of guardians, and in need of protection. These government guidelines set out the purpose of the scheme, criteria for eligibility and procedures to be followed, including the relevant forms.

Country Care Review: Tunisia

Better Care Network, 10 Jun 2013

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as part of its examination of Tunisia’s initial report adopted by the Committee at its fifth session.

Children without parental care in Poland: Foster care, institutionalization and adoption

Sandra Knuiman, Catharina HAM Rijk, René AC Hoksbergen and Anneloes L Van Baar, 05 Jun 2013

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

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Baseline Survey on Community Child Protection Systems in Uganda

Eddy. J. Walakira, Ddumba-Nyanzi Ismail, Jimrex Byamugisha, 01 Jun 2013

This report describes the process, findings and recommendations of the baseline survey for the project titled, “Building and Strengthening Community-Based Child Protection Systems in Busoga and Acholi sub-regions” commissioned by ANPPCAN. The baseline survey was intended to establish the status of project indicators so that the information obtained can inform the implementation of project activities.

UN CRC General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as primary consideration

Committee on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 29 May 2013

General Comment 14, issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, refers to article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that asserts the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as primary consideration in all actions or decisions that concern him or her (in both the public and private spheres).