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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Children’s Rights in Poland and Russia in the Context of Janusz Korczak’s in heritage

Edyta Januszewska - International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 2016

The aim of this article is to study the situation on realizing children’s rights in Poland and in Russia in the context of Janusz Korczak’s principles.

Los Olvidados: Niños y Niñas en "Hogares": Macroinstituciones en América Latina y el Caribe

RELAF, 2016

Este documento pretende impulsar un cambio en el paradigma de la institucionalización como respuesta a la situación de los niños, niñas y adolescentes privados de cuidados familiares.

The Illusion of Protection: An Analytical Report Based on the Findings of a Comprehensive Study of the Child Protection System in Ukraine

Hope and Homes for Children, 2016

To obtain complete data on the child protection system and related problems in Ukraine, Hope and Homes for Children conducted a comprehensive study of the child protection system in Ukraine during the 2015 - 2016 time period. To ensure the integrity of the data, the structure of the study included components focused on different levels of the child protection system in Ukraine (national, regional and rayon), and combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches and methods. The system of institutional care was the main focus of the study.

Child Protection: UNICEF Country Programme 2016-2018

UNICEF Cambodia, 2016

This brief from UNICEF Cambodia describes UNICEF's plans and programs regarding child protection.

Supervision Guideline for Pusan Dukungan Anak dan Keluarga (PDAK) Child and Family Support Centre Social Workers in Working with Children and Families

Susan Morwood, 2016

This Supervision Guideline document from Save the Children contains guidelines and underlying principles for Pusan Dukungan Anak dan Keluarga (PDAK) child and family support centre social workers in working with children and families.

Schools that care: A review of linkages between children’s education and care

Camilla Jones – Family for Every Child, 2016

This report presents the key findings of a scoping study on the links between education and children’s care. The study involved a literature review in English, French and Spanish; key informant interviews; and consultations with 170 children, carers, teachers and other stakeholders in Guyana, India, Russia and Rwanda.

End the silence: The case for the elimination of institutional care of children

Hope and Homes for Children, 2016

This policy paper from Hope and Homes for Children calls on all the stakeholders that play a role in developing, running, supporting or influencing national care systems to join forces in a collaborative action to eradicate institutional care once and for all.

The Children’s Act 2011: DRAFT Regulations on the Care and Protection of Children

Department of Social Welfare - Zanzibar, 2016

These DRAFT Regulations on the Care and Protection of Children of the Children’s Act of Zanzibar offer a definition of a child in need of protection and outline the general duties of the Department of Social Welfare in regards to providing that protection.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Video Series

James Bell Associates, 2016

This three-part video series shows how a fictional organization, Greene County Department of Human Services, set out to improve permanency for children and youth by increasing the number of available foster and adoptive homes using data-driven decision making (DDDM).

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Um fin ao silêncio: Fundamentos para eliminar a institucionalização de crianças e adolescentes

Hope and Homes for Children, 2016

Décadas de pesquisas comprovam que o crescimento em instituições de acolhida gera consequências psicológicas, emocionais e físicas, incluindo transtornos de apego, atrasos cognitivos e no desenvolvimento, e uma falta de habilidades sociais e de competências para a vida, trazendo diversas desvantagens na idade adulta.