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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The Relationship between Institutional Care and the International Adoption of Children in Europe

Shihning Chou and Kevin Browne, 07 Mar 2008

Explores causal relationship between increased international adoption and increase in institutional care of children in Europe.

Expanding Social Protection for Vulnerable Children and Families: Lessons Learned from and Institutional Perspective

Miriam Temin, 01 Mar 2008

Examines the institutional challenges in implementing national social protection programmes

Ghana Regulations for Care and Protection: Residential Care as a Last Resort (draft)

Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Government of Ghana , 20 Feb 2008

These standards were drafted as part of a reform initiative programme in Ghana to ensure that institutional care is used as a last resort

Special Series - UN Draft Guidlelines for the Appropriate Use and Conditions of Alternative Care for Children

International Social Service, 01 Feb 2008

International Social Service’s first segment of the series addresses the historical background and the principles and objectives of the Guidelines

Adoption: At What Cost? For an Ethical Responsibility of Receiving Countries in Intercountry Adoption

Terre des hommes, 01 Feb 2008

A comparative study on the ethical responsibility of receiving countries of intercountry adoption.

IREX/Assistance to Russian Orphans (ARO) Program News and Updates, February 2008

IREX/ARO, 01 Feb 2008

Update on all recent seminars and activities relevant to child welfare reform and deinstitutionalization in Russia

What You Can Do About Alternative Care in South Asia: An Advocacy Kit

UNICEF, 08 Jan 2008

Provides insight into the situation of children outside parental care in South Asia, gaps in legislation, capacity, and services, with reference to national and international legal instruments.

Children's Property and Inheritance Rights, HIV and AIDS, and Social Protection in Southern and Eastern Africa

Laurel L. Rose, Ph.D., 2008

Discusses the bi-directional relationship between HIV/AIDS and agriculture, food security, and rural livelihoods, including the relationship between HIV/AIDS and children’s property and inheritance rights

Evaluation of a Community-Based Orphan Care Program in Uganda

Jini L. Roby & Stacey A. Shaw, 2008

Examines the outcomes of family strengthening model in Uganda.

Capacity to Manage Alternative Care: Assessment Report for Namibia

Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Government of the Republic of Namibia, 2008

This report prepared for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) with financial support from UNICEF Namibia assesses the country’s capacity to manage alternative care systems for children.