Non-Formal Mechanisms for Children's Care and Protection

In many countries children without adequate family care are supported within non-formal care arrangements. This typically involves the care of a child by a relative (kinship care), or someone close to the family (informal foster care), without any legal proceedings or regulation by the State. In some cases, children may also live on their own without adult carers within a child-headed household.

Informal care arrangements often build on traditional, cultural practices or religious practices and can provide a safe and caring environment for children close to their families and communities. Some arrangements however, may put children at risk of inadequate care, abuse or exploitation – particularly when caregivers are unrelated (or only distantly related), children are moved far away from their communities, or when a child heads the household. In kinship or informal foster care arrangements children may be treated differently than their caretakers’ own children, denied access to education and health and unfairly burdened with household labour.

Moves to formalize traditional alternative care arrangements have met with debate. While there is a need to monitor children’s care situations to prevent their discrimination and mistreatment - as well as to help caregivers to access support services - there are concerns that placing formal requirements on traditional caretaking practices (such as registration with the authorities) might disrupt or even curtail them.

In many countries efforts are underway to strengthen community-based and traditional practices for protecting vulnerable children. This includes supporting child protection committees and community based structures such as faith based groups, volunteer associations, traditional and religious leaders, and neighbourhood committees, to play an increased role in monitoring and supporting informal care arrangements. This can range from conducting home visits, counselling caregivers or children, encouraging children to attend school, providing life skills instruction and linking children to social assistance (cash transfers, feeding schemes, legal services). Awareness raising efforts can also help to educate communities about children’s rights and reduce discrimination against children in alternative care.

The resources in this section outline non-formal and traditional practices for caring and protecting children without adequate family care, which typically operate outside of the formal care and protection systems at the community level.

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Adolescents And Youth: A Comprehensive Approach In Latin America And The Caribbean

Save the Children, 2016

This document discusses the comprehensive approach used by Save the Children to promote synergy between personal autonomy and economic development.

Understanding informal kinship care: a critical narrative review of theory and research

MacDonald, M., Hayes, D., & Houston, S. - Families, Relationships and Societies, 2016

This article presents a comprehensive, narrative review of international, research literature on informal, kinship care.

Family support for families at risk

Pat Dolan - Innocenti’s Expert Consultation on Family and Parenting Support, 27 May 2015

This presentation from Innocenti’s Expert Consultation on Family and Parenting Support focuses on informal supports for families and on incorporating research into practice.

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Bottom-up approaches to strengthening child protection systems: Placing children, families, and communities at the center

Michael G. Wessells - Child Abuse & Neglect, 01 May 2015

This article examines an alternative approach to child protection which consists of community-driven, bottom-up work that enables nonformal–formal collaboration and alignment, greater use of formal services, internally driven social change, and high levels of community ownership. The article offers a case example of a community-driven program in Sierra Leone.

A Closer Look: Informal Child Care Arrangements and Support in California

Cleo Jacobs Johnson, Kimberly Boller, Madeline Young, Jaime Thomas, and Daisy Gonzalez - Mathematica Policy Research Issue Brief, 01 Apr 2015

This brief from Mathematica Policy Research presents findings from the Informal Caregivers Research Project on informal caregivers’ and parents’ networks in the US. The research focuses on child care arrangements and sources of support and information related to caregiving.

Na Gan Ts'i'stk Grandmothers' Group Of Lax Kw'alaams

Helen Johnson et al , 2015

This article describes a group of Elders in the Lax kw’alaams community of British Columbia who provide support and mentorship to the Lax kw’alaams children in care.

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A Sense of Belonging: Understanding and improving informal alternative care mechanisms to increase the care and protection of children

Save the Children , 2015

This report presents research conducted by Save the Children in East Africa. The aim of this research was to build knowledge on endogenous care practices within families and communities, especially informal kinship care, in order to increase the care and protection of children. The research on kinship care was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zanzibar.

The Church and Child Protection: The Safe Families Story

David Anderson - Child Abuse and Neglect Journal, Volume 38, Issue 4, 09 May 2014

This article highlights the historical role churches have played in child protection stemming from biblical teachings and mandates as well as a current example of church involvement in child protection.

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Family Group Conferencing and Kinship Care: Australasian perspectives

Professor Marie Connolly of the University of Melbourne, 01 Apr 2014

This webinar presentation by Professor Marie Connolly of the University of Melbourne introduces the history and background of Family Group Conference (FGC) in New Zealand and Australia and discusses the influence of FGC on the development of formal or statutory kinship care in the region.