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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Fact Sheet on National Child Protection Systems in Zambia

Save the Children in Zambia, 2011

This fact sheet by Save the Children provides an overview of the current status of national child protection systems in Zambia.

Report of the Mapping and Analysis of Ghana’s Child Protection System

Child Frontiers Ltd, 2011

The objective of this child protection systems mapping and analysis is to provide stakeholders with a descriptive profile of their existing system, and an initial assessment of its contextual appropriateness and relevance to the populations being served.

Child Protection in the Philippines: A Situational Analysis

Save the Children , 2011

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.

Indonesia: National Standards of Care For Child Welfare Institutions

Ministry of Social Affairs the Republic of Indonesia , 2011

Indonesia’s National Standards of Care for Child Welfare Institutions is a crucial policy instrument, drafted in response to the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, regulating the provision of alternative care for children.

Minimum Package of Services for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and Youth

Southern African Development Community, 2011

The Minimum Package is a guide to encourage the harmonizing of service delivery for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children and Youth (OVCY) across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Zanzibar Children's Act 2011

Government of Zanzibar, 2011

This Act was established by the Government of Zanzibar to provide for the rights and best interests of the child and to ensure the protection, rights, and care of the child.

Talking About Early Child Development and Children’s Mental Health in Alberta

FrameWorks Institute, 2011

This toolkit presents a compendium of research on how Albertans think about the issues of early childhood development, and how to increase public support for policies and programs that support healthy child development.

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Every child's right to be heard: A resource guide on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment no. 12

Gerison Lansdown, 2011

This resource guide is based on and elaborates the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 12, ‘The Right of the Child to be Heard.’ The aim of this handbook is to try to make easier the task of governments in moving that agenda forward.

Adoption: UK National Minimum Standards

Department for Education, UK, 2011

This document contains the UK National Minimum Standards (NMS) applicable to the provision of adoption services.

Children without Appropriate Care: Participant Manual for Asia and the Pacific

Louise Melville Fulford, 31 Dec 2010

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.