Child Care and Protection System Reforms

Social welfare sector reform is increasingly common, particularly in transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Increasing attention has been paid to the development of preventive community based child and family welfare programs that would, in coordination with health and education programs and social assistance, provide a range of support for vulnerable families.

Recognition of the damaging effects of institutional care on children and its high cost has influenced governments to redirect resources towards alternative family and community-based care practices such as kinship care, fostering, and adoption. Redirecting resources in the context of social welfare reforms requires a commitment from governments to provide adequate financing for effective policy implementation.

Funding availability raises a variety of issues regarding the level and type of support to be provided, the private or public management of services, and the entitlement process. Social welfare should protect the rights of children and their caretakers via fair and clear criteria of support provisions, with transparent procedures for the effective allocation of services.

Social welfare reforms to protect and support children and families need to be built on legal protections and child care policies which reflect the same child centred goals. Alternative forms of community based care, combined with social reintegration programmes and family support services, must be developed to reduce the use of institutions and enable children leaving institutions to rejoin their communities.

The resources in this section focus on country initiatives in reforming their social welfare sector to finance community based care developments.

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Research methodology applied to a comparative case study of the deinstitutionalization of children in Bulgaria and Ukraine

Chrissie Gale - Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 01 Dec 2015

This study discusses a variance in results in eliminating use of large-scale residential institutions for children across the CEE/CIS region.

Country Care Review: Brazil

Better Care Network, 29 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Country Care Review: Gabon

Better Care Network, 02 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Country Care Review: Ukraine

Better Care Network, 02 Oct 2015

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Role of Social Service Workforce Strengthening in Care Reform Presentation

Beth Bradford, Global Social Service Workforce Alliance & Better Care Network - ISPCAN European Conference, 28 Sep 2015

This presentation was given by Beth Bradford at the ISPCAN European Conference in September 2015.

From the Perspective of UNCRC: Changes in Policies and Care Provisions in Eastern Europe in the Last 25 Years

Dr (habil) Maria Herczog, President of Eurochild, Former member of the UNCRC Committee, 28 Sep 2015

This presentation was given at the ISPCAN Conference in Bucharest, Romania in September 2015. The presentation reviews similarities and differences in national care reform efforts in the Eastern Europe region, highlights the main care-related issues in the region 25 years ago, describes the reforms and improvements made in the region as well as the challenges and responses to reforms, and provides recommendations for the way forward.

We All Need Families at the End of the Day - Special Care

Better Care Network and UNICEF, 23 Sep 2015

This video gives an inside look at an assisted family setting in Ghana where children with disabilities live with their foster mothers. It highlights the increased risk of family separation faced by children with special needs and advocates for the provision of quality family-based care to children who cannot be with their parents or extended families.

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Investing in Children and Families to Avoid Unnecessary Separation

Human Rights Council Side event, 22 Sep 2015

This Human Rights Council Side event included presentations on family separation in the African, Asian, European, and Latin American contexts.

We All Need Families at the End of the Day

Better Care Network and UNICEF, 22 Sep 2015

This video is presented by Better Care Network and UNICEF. It tells the story of Maureen, a young girl in Kenya who was separated from her family and sent to live in a children's home. It also features interviews with experts, including those who have lived in children's homes, explaining some of the negative impacts of institutionalization and highlights the efforts of Care Reform Initiatives to deinstitutionalize children in Kenya and Ghana.

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Investing in Children and Families to Avoid Unnecessary Separation - French

Human Rights Council Side event, 22 Sep 2015

This Human Rights Council Side event included presentations on family separation in the African, Asian, European, and Latin American contexts.