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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Service providers as champions for non-violent childhoods: Service provision for children and parents to achieve an end to corporal punishment

Turid Heiberg, Annabel Egan, and Maria Corbett - Council of Baltic Sea States, 09 Nov 2018

This guidance report reviews the experience of and lessons learned from service provision in social welfare, child protection and childcare, health care, education and law enforcement. It presents methods, tools and service models that have proven effective in preventing and responding to corporal punishment.

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Teaming up in child welfare: The perspective of guardians ad litem on the components of interprofessional collaboration

Jon D. Phillips & Matthew A.Walsh - Children and Youth Services Review, 07 Nov 2018

This article explores the guardian ad litem (GAL) perspective on the main components of interprofessional collaboration (IPC).

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Just Out Having a Good Time? Evaluation of the Pilot National Partnership Agreement for Looked After Children Who Go Missing From Residential and Foster Care in Scotland

McIver, Leanne and Welch, Vicki - CELCIS, 05 Nov 2018

This report is the evaluation of the pilot partnership agreement between Police Scotland and local authorities, for responses to children and young people missing from foster and residential care.

The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2018: Progress in the child-friendliness of African governments

African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), 02 Nov 2018

This report has two aims: (1) examine how well African governments are delivering on their promises and commitments to children and (2) provide a comprehensive, quantitative and qualitative view of the current realities and trends in the state of child wellbeing in Africa, and their implications for the future.

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A Quick Guide to the New 2018 Guidelines on Assessing and Determining the Best Interests of the Child (BIP Guidelines)

UNHCR, 01 Nov 2018

The BIP Guidelines combine a conceptual framework of the best interests of the child with field-driven, operational guidance to provide one consolidated, practical frame of reference for staff and partners in the field. This document provides a guide to the 2018 updated Guidelines, including what's new, why they were revised, and what's next.

National protocol on reducing criminalisation of looked-after children

UK Department for Education, 01 Nov 2018

This guidance from the UK's Department for Education presents a framework to help social care and criminal justice agencies keep looked-after children out of the criminal justice system.

The Children’s Report: Australia’s NGO coalition report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

Freyana Irani, Amy Lamoin & Krista Lee-Jones - Australian Child Rights Taskforce, UNICEF Australia, 01 Nov 2018

This report presents the findings from a national consultation with children and young people, conducted by UNICEF Australia.

Child protection: Working with children scheme five years on and recent legislative changes

Niles, Sharminie - LSJ: Law Society of NSW Journal , 01 Nov 2018

This article examines Australia's 'Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012' ('the Act') and recent changes.

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Corruption affects Ugandan children

The National Child Protection Working Group (NCPWG), 01 Nov 2018

This brief from the National Child Protection Working Group (NCPWG) examines the types of corrupt practices experienced by children in Uganda and what can be done to close the loop holes that allow such corrupt practices. The brief highlights the impacts of corruption on children's wellbeing including "instances of falsifying birth histories of children to qualify for orphan status and consequently eligibility for international adoption."

Deliberate investments to protect Ugandan children

National Child Protection Working Group, 01 Nov 2018

This brief from the National Child Protection Working Group examines the key challenges facing financing for child wellbeing in Uganda and how to address funding gaps.