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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Unsafe and Uneducated: Indifference to Dangers in Pennsylvania’s Residential Child Welfare Facilities

Elissa Glucksman Hyne, Christina Wilson Remlin, Maura McInerney, Isabel Skilton, Genevieve Caffrey - Children’s Rights, 01 Dec 2018

This report is divided into two parts. Part A focuses on the dangers that occur at Pennsylvania’s residential facilities when the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“PA-DHS”) fails to provide meaningful oversight. Part B provides background on child residents’ educational rights, details the inferior education that children at these residential facilities receive, especially those children with disabilities, and the devastating consequences.

Mapping of Child Protection Institutions in Ghana

UNICEF, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, 01 Dec 2018

This report captures the findings of a mapping exercise commissioned by UNICEF Ghana and undertaken by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). This mapping exercise sought primarily to establish the number and profile of institutions at national and sub-national levels involved in child protection.

Adoption and child protection trends for children aged under five in England: Increasing investigations and hidden separation of children from their parents

Andy Bilson & Elizabeth Hunter Munro - Children and Youth Services Review, 28 Nov 2018

This study provides an analysis of the ‘investigative turn’ in England by comparing two large cohorts of children, one whose fifth birthday was in 2011–12 and the other in 2016–17.

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Superkids: Breaking Away from Care

Lemn Sissay - Channel 4, 26 Nov 2018

In this documentary episode from Channel 4 in the UK, Lemn Sissay meets seven young people who are in the care of their council and sets out to help them express their experiences through words and perform them to a packed theatre of decision-makers.

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Preventive Benefits of U.S. Childcare Subsidies in Supervisory Child Neglect

Kathryn Maguire‐Jack, Kelly M. Purtell, Kathryn Showalter, Sheila Barnhart, Mi‐Youn Yang - Children & Society, 23 Nov 2018

Using data from age 3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the current study explores the complex relationships between U.S. childcare subsidies and neglect.

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Feeling the pressure to take sides: A survey of child protection workers' experiences about responding to allegations of child maltreatment within the context of child custody disputes Author links open overlay panel

Michael Saini, Tara Black, Elisabeth Godbout, Sevil Deljavan - Children and Youth Services Review, 22 Nov 2018

This paper reports on an exploratory cross-sectional online survey of child protection service providers from five child protection agencies that investigates the struggles faced by child protection workers when responding to complaints made by acrimonious ex-partners within the context of child custody disputes.

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A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness of Family Group Conferencing in Child Welfare: Effectiveness, Moderators, and Level of FGC Completion

Sharon Dijkstra, Jessica J. Asscher, Maja Deković, Geert Jan J. M. Stams, Hanneke E. Creemers - Child Maltreatment, 21 Nov 2018

The present study examined the effectiveness of Family Group Conferencing (FGC) in child welfare.

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South African Child Gauge 2018

Katharine Hall, Linda Richter, Zitha Mokomane & Lori Lake (Eds) - Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, 20 Nov 2018

This thirteenth issue of the South African Child Gauge® focuses on children in relation to families and the state, both of which are central to providing for children and supporting their development.

Partnering With Parents: Reviewing the Evidence for Motivational Interviewing in Child Welfare

Avani Shah, Shawn Jeffries, Leah P. Cheatham, Will Hasenbein, Misty Creel, Debra Nelson-Gardell, Nysthesia White-Chapman - Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 20 Nov 2018

This comprehensive narrative review identifies the use of motivational interviewing (MI) in child welfare (CW), the outcomes of MI use and the gaps in the literature.

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Supporting families in South Africa: A policy map

Patricia Martin, Katharine Hall and Lori Lake - South African Child Gauge 2018, 20 Nov 2018

This chapter from the South African Child Gauge 2018 reviews national policies supporting families as well as other services in South Africa that seek to strengthen families and address the needs of vulnerable families in the country.