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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A Child’s right to a Family: Deinstitutionalization of Child Welfare in Russia as Ideology and Practice

Meri Kulmala, Maija Jäppinen and Jouko Nikula - XVI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, 08 Apr 2015

This paper, presented at the XVI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development in Moscow on 8 April 2015, outlines a research project analyzing ongoing foster care reform in Russia in the context of the country’s new family policies.

Research findings on Alternative care system in Kenya for children without parental care

Stephen Ucembe - International Institute of Social Studies, 07 Apr 2015

This paper examines alternative care in Kenya. The focus will be on the genesis of alternative care; the non- prosaic multiple factors contributing to the situation, situational analysis on data, and child protection frameworks.

Therapeutic Foster Care: Child Welfare

Jennifer Teska - Cinahl Information Systems, a division of EBSCO Information Services , 03 Apr 2015

In this “Quick Lesson About Therapeutic Foster Care,” the author provides a description of, and background information on, therapeutic foster care in the United States, an overview of national statistics regarding therapeutic foster care, and an overview of the risk factors and symptoms associated with children in need of therapeutic foster care.

Can States Improve Children’s Health by Preventing Abuse and Neglect?

Ron Haskins, Janet Currie, and Lawrence M. Berger - The Future of Children Policy Brief Spring 2015, 01 Apr 2015

This brief from the Future of Children Journal, a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, outlines the current state of the Child Welfare System in the United States, particularly federal funding to individual states’ child welfare systems.

Unaccompanied Child Migration to the United States: The Tension between Protection and Prevention

Marc R. Rosenblum - Transatlantic Council on Migration , 01 Apr 2015

This report examines the policy challenge in the United States of balancing protection and immigration enforcement in the recent unaccompanied child migration “crisis” in the US.

Child Welfare in Chile: Learning from International Experiences to Improve Family Interventions

Carolina Muñoz-Guzmán, Candice Fischer, Enrique Chia and Catherine LaBrenz - Social Sciences , 13 Mar 2015

This paper offers strategic guidelines to improve alternative care for children younger than six years of age, who are under protective measures.

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Country Care Profile: Rwanda

Better Care Network, UNICEF, PEPFAR, USAID, 01 Mar 2015

This country care profile provides an overview of key lessons learned in the children’s care reform process in Rwanda, including successes, challenges and areas for progress, and gaps in learning and best practice.

An Analysis of Child-Care Reform in Three African Countries: Summary of Key Findings

Better Care Network and UNICEF, with support from PEPFAR and USAID, 01 Mar 2015

This report summarizes the care-reform process of three sub-Saharan African countries – Ghana, Liberia and Rwanda.

The Children Amendment Bill No. 2 - Uganda

The Republic of Uganda, 13 Feb 2015

In 2015, the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda considered the Children Amendment Bill, which has several implications for children’s care in the country. The object of the bill is to amend the Children Act Cap. 59, enhance protection of a child, provide for the guardianship of children, provide for inter country adoption, prohibit corporal punishment, and provide for related matters.

Beyond CPS: Developing an Effective System for Helping Children in “Neglectful” Families

Michael S. Wald - Child Abuse & Neglect 41 (2015) , 11 Feb 2015

In this article, the author addresses the topic of child neglect, or allegations thereof, as it relates to children and families in the Child Welfare System in the United States.

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