Standards of Care

Standards of care are approved criteria for measuring and monitoring the management, provision and quality of child care services and their outcomes. Such standards are required for all child care provision, including day care, kinship, foster and institutional care.

Standards should be concrete and observable sets of indicators which describe what good practice means in terms of outcomes for the child, how a service should be delivered, and the actions required by staff. They should be guided by the rights and best interests of the child, the preservation of the family, and the promotion of the child’s development.

Standards of care should be in line with national child care and protection policies, and reflect international standards for children’s rights. The development, monitoring and evaluation of standards should be participatory, and reflect the views of children and families who are using the services.

Standards should give indicators relating to all aspects of child care from the child’s physical and emotional well-being to staff and organisational procedures. This includes the child’s diet, access to health and education, and play and recreational facilities. Standards should outline the methods of care and control, and ensure that services are accessible and promote the child’s health. Standards should specify the rights of children to privacy, informed choices, dignity and respect. Standards relating to staff should include recruitment and selection procedures, regular supervision, support, and training. Procedural standards include the maintenance of records, respect for confidentiality, and accountability mechanisms.

The literature in this section focuses on examples of organisational standards for child care provision.

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A World that Cares: How to Support Children without Parental Care through the Sustainable Development Goals

Gillian Huebner - SOS Children's Villages , 2017

This briefing describes how the needs of children without parental care can be addressed through five of the SDGs: no poverty (1); quality education (4); decent work and economic growth (8); reduced inequalities (10); and peace, justice and strong institutions (16).

Caring for Separated Children: New Guidelines Call for Reintegration as a First Response

Inter-agency group on children's reintegration, 07 Sep 2016

This document is a statement in support of the Guidelines on Children's Reintegration.

Applying the Science of Child Development in Child Welfare Systems

Steven D. Cohen - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 22 Aug 2016

This paper explores the ways that developmental science can inform and strengthen the child welfare system to better support the children, families, and communities it serves.

Country Care Review: Slovakia

Better Care Network , 17 May 2016

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

Country Care Review: Lithuania

Better Care Network, 11 May 2016

This country care review includes the Concluding Observations for the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Case Management in Child and Family Support Centre / Pusat Dukungan Anak dan Keluarga (PDAK)

Tata Sudrajat, Dr. Kanya Eka Santi, Nurjannah - Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik , 2016

This book introduces the PDAK – Pusat Dukungan Anak dan Keluarga (Child and Family Support Centre) in Indonesia and the case management system utilized within the centre.

A Better Future is Possible: Promoting Family Life for Children with Disabilities in Residential Care - Manual for Professionals

International Social Service, 2016

This manual provides guidance to professionals who work with children with disabilities in residential care.

Indigenous Young People Transitioning From Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) in Victoria, Australia: The Perspectives of Workers in Indigenous-Specific and Non-Indigenous Non-Government Services

Philip Mendes, Bernadette Saunders, Susan Baidawi - International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2016

This article investigates the current leaving care and post-care supports that are available to Indigenous care leavers in Australia.

Realising children’s rights: A training manual for care professionals working with children in alternative care

SOS Children’s Villages International, 01 Nov 2015

The two-day course outlined in these pages is designed to familiarise groups of care professionals with the international standards and principles surrounding children’s rights – and above all, to relate this to the daily experience and challenges arising in the field of alternative care.

The Council of Europe action in favour of children’s rights: Helping professionals working with children make the best use of available standards

Regína Jensdóttir, Council of Europe - Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, 19 Jun 2015

This article describes the current strategies of the “Building a Europe for and with Children” programme, a programme of the Council of Europe. The strategy focuses on four areas of action: promoting child-friendly services and systems; eliminating all forms of violence against children; guaranteeing the rights of children in vulnerable situations, and promoting child participation. A further standard is available on children’s rights and social services friendly to children and families for ensuring that children lacking or placed outside parental care are given adequate treatment.