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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UNICEF Child Protection Strategy - English

UNICEF, 07 Jun 2008

Outlines the contributions of UNICEF to national and international efforts to fulfill children’s right to protection.

UNICEF Child Protection Strategy - Russian

UNICEF, 07 Jun 2008

Outlines the contributions of UNICEF to national and international efforts to fulfil children’s right to protection

Estrategia de protección de la infancia del UNICEF

UNICEF, 06 Jun 2008

Describe las contribuciones de UNICEF a los esfuerzos nacionales e internacionales para cumplir el derecho de los niños a la protección.

UNHCR Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child

United Nations High Commission on Refugees, 01 May 2008

Provides a formal mechanism to determine the best interests of the child as a mechanism within a child protection system

Second Edition of the ISS Special Series on the Draft UN Guidelines on Appropriate Use and Conditions of Alternative Care for Children

International Social Service, 01 May 2008

Explores the principles of the Draft UN Guidelines governing the prevention of resort to alternative care and provides a short case study on successful programming

Minimum Standards on Alternative Care for Children (Cambodia)

Kingdom of Cambodia, 01 May 2008

This document includes the Minimum Standards on Alternative Care for Children set out by the Government of Cambodia, including both the Minimum Standards for Residential Care for Children and the Minimum Standards on Alternative Care for Children in the Community.

Beyond men pikin: Improving Understanding of Post-Conflict Child Fostering in Sierra Leone

Lacey Andrews Gale, 27 Apr 2008

Examines the challenges posed in monitoring and ensuring child protection in informal and formal fostering in post-conflict areas.

The Child Care Transition: A league table of early childhood education and care in economically advanced countries

UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 01 Apr 2008

A great change is coming over childhood in the world’s richest countries. Today’s rising generation is the first in which a majority is spending a large part of early childhood in some form of out-of-home child care. This Report Card discusses the opportunities and risks involved in the child care transition, and proposes internationally applicable benchmarks for early childhood care and education.