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 Cost of Foster Care: Investing in our Children's Future

Robert Tapsfield and Felicity Collier, 2005

This report assesses the expenditure which is required to transform foster care services across the UK, in order to give children in public care the same opportunities to have a successful future as other children. Contains relevant statistics and social welfare system reform recommendations.

Children and Disability in Transition CEE/CIS and Baltic States

UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2005

Report presents and analyzes new research and data around children with disabilities in the region, the effects of institutional care, and the need for family support services.

Violence Against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: A Case Study of Uganda

World Vision, 2005

Report documenting participatory research conducted on violence against children affected by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Particular focus on the stigmatisation and discrimination.

Capacity Building in Social Policy Reform in Moldova

David Larter and Eugenia Veveritsa , 2005

This paper analyses the financial costs of residential services as compared to community-based services in Moldova. It also addresses the negative effects of institutional care on the well-being of children and society as a whole.

Cost Benefit Analysis of Children in Care - Moldova.doc

Family Matters: A Study of Institutional Child Care in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (Shorter Version)

Richard Carter - Every Child, 2005

This report reviews the faltering progress made in childcare reform across Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union over the 15 years since the ‘orphanages’ of Romania were revealed to the world.

The Protective Environment: Development Support for Child Protection

Karin Landgren, 2005

A paper introducing the concept of a ‘Protective Environment’ which outlines the elements required in a society for the effective protection of children from violence, exploitation and abuse.

Assessment of the Adoption System in Ukraine

Nigel Cantwell; Isabel Lammerant; Laura Martinez-Mora, 2005

Assessment of the care system, domestic adoption, and international adoption in Ukraine with a summary of key findings and recommendations.

Expenditure on the Residential Care of Children in the Republic of Moldova: A Financial Analysis Based on 2005 Budget Data

David Larter and Eugenia Veverita, 2005

Reports on the financial costs of residential care for children in the Republic of Moldova. Highlights significant financial inefficiencies and advocates for closure of residential institutions.

Support for Families in Difficulty as a Means of Prevention of the Child's Separation from the Family of Origin

International Social Service and International Reference Centre for the Rights of Children Deprived of their Family (ISS/IRC), 2005

Brief summary of the importance of social work in preventing family separation, including increasing empowerment, social support and self-assessment processes.

Promising Practices in Community-Based Social Services in CEE/CIS/Baltics

Rebecca T. Davis, 2005

Provides a framework for analysis of community-based social welfare services and linkages with government structures. Includes analysis of alternative care provision, de-institutionalization, programming for children with disabilities, standards of care, and overall social welfare sector reform.