Community Based Care Mechanisms

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care for Children highlight the importance of providing children with care within family-type settings in their own communities. This allows girls and boys to maintain ties with natural support networks such as relatives, friends and neighbours, and minimizes disruption to their education, cultural and social life. Keeping children within their communities (ideally as close as possible to their original homes), also allows girls and boys to stay in touch with their families, and facilitates potential reintegration.

Examples from around the world demonstrate that there are many ways children without adequate family care can be supported within their own communities. This includes both formal and informal arrangements such as foster care, kinship care, domestic adoption/Kafala, guardianship, supervised independent living, child-headed households and small group homes.

These practices can be supported through a range of formal measures including social protection schemes (e.g. child sensitive cash transfers), family strengthening services, community based rehabilitation services for children with disabilities, respite care, training for caregivers, and policies that support families in alternative care-taking roles. Increasing access to free education and health services, and establishing social assistance programmes to reduce poverty, can also help the poorest caregivers to support children within the community.

In the absence of well-developed care and child protection systems in many countries, community based mechanisms can also play a key role supporting children and caretakers in alternative care situations. Child protection Committees, faith based organizations, civil society groups, volunteer associations and other community based groups can provide financial or practical support through schemes that help to fund children’s education or health costs, link them to support services or social assistance schemes, and provide mentorship and family counseling. Home visits and caretaker support groups can also play a valuable role, while awareness raising efforts to promote children’s rights (particularly if supported by community and religious leaders), can help to reduce discrimination against girls and boys in alternative care arrangements – particularly those with disabilities or from minority groups.

As long as they are not over-burdened or given responsibilities beyond their competence, community-based groups can provide vital support to children in alternative care situations. Often however, they are hampered by weak organizational procedures, limited technical capacity and poor coordination. Continued efforts by governments, NGOs and international agencies are needed to promote their institutional development and to enhance their ability to support children.

The literature in this section describes a range of care arrangements that enable children to receive adequate care within their own communities, and community support initiatives that help to sustain them.

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Building Social Connectedness: A Brief Guide for Practitioners Working with Children and Youth

Shirley Pendlebury - Synergos Institute, 2014

This brief guide: defines social isolation and social connectedness; explains why it is important to build social connectedness; outlines enabling policies; provides guidelines on how practitioners can support children and youth to build meaningful social connections.

Imbeleko Report: Cultivating Resourcefulness, Not Dependency

Mr Vuyani Patrick Ntanjana & Mr Fezile July - Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, 2014

The purpose of the ‘Imbeleko and social connectedness’ project was to conduct a cross-sectional study in order to explore and describe indigenous ways of care and support to inform policy and intervention.

Reflections on Africa’s Indigenous Knowledge of parenting: Indigenous parenting practices of different communities in Africa

Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), 2014

This publication, produced by the Parenting in Africa Network (PAN), highlights the skillful parenting practices of several pastoral communities in Africa.

Social Connectedness Programme

Synergos Institute, 2014

This report describes the Social Connectedness Programme and the three strands of research that inform it. The report defines social connectedness and social isolation and explains the benefits of social connectedness.

Myanmar: Kinship Care Handbook

Jane Calder and Bep Van Sloten, 31 Dec 2013

This Handbook aims to provide guidance for Save the Children staff, NGO partners, Community Child Protection Groups and community volunteers in Myanmar in protecting the welfare of children living with extended family members.

Assessment of Community-and Family-Based Alternative Child-Care Services in Ethiopia

Getnet Tadele, Desta Ayode, Woldekidan Kifle, 28 Dec 2013

This assessment conducted by FHI 360, with support from Ethiopia's Ministry of Women, Youth and Children Affairs (MoWYCA) and the OAK Foundation aimed to generate evidence about formal community and family- based alternative child care services and service providing agencies in Ethiopia, with a particular focus on magnitude, quality and quality-assurance mechanisms.

Caring for orphaned children in China

Xiaoyuan Shang and Karen R. Fisher, 14 Dec 2013

This book by Dr. Xiaoyuan Shang and Karen Fisher provides a comprehensive and clear picture of the situation of children who are orphaned or abandoned in China. It introduces the context and framework for the alternative care system and China’s welfare system as it applies to children, and provides a profile of orphans and of care arrangements, describing both the formal child welfare system and the informal care system, particularly kinship care.

Evaluation of the Implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Reform of the Residential Childcare System in Moldova 2007-2012

Peter Evans, 04 Dec 2013

The Government of the Republic of Moldova launched its childcare reforms in 2006 aiming to establish a network of community social assistants, develop family support services and alternative family placement services, and reorganise residential childcare institutions. This evaluation reviews the implementation of the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Reform of the Residential Childcare System 2007–2012 approved by the Government of the Republic of Moldova in July 2007.

Foster Family: A Study on the Practice of Foster Care for Children In India

Bosco National Research And Documentation Center, 01 Dec 2013

This important study on foster care practices in India provides important insight into the history, approaches, challenges and opportunities facing the development of foster care services in the country, presenting a picture of foster care practices across nine Indian states.

‘Everybody’s Child’ but ‘Nobody’s Child’: Strengthening Alternative Family and Community Based Care Options for Abandoned Children Placed in Ugandan Institutions.

Nakimbugwe Grace Lisa - The Hague, 01 Dec 2013

The study examined alternative family and community care options and how they can be strengthened; cultural attitudes and perceptions of the communities and experiences of prospective foster and adoptive parents as regards reunification, kinship care, fostering and adoption.