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.

Displaying 211 - 220 of 310

Browse Other Topics

The Social Work Curriculum Development Advocacy Paper

UNICEF Afghanistan, 01 Feb 2009

This paper outlines a vision for the network of services, policies, and programmes necessary to protect children at risk and enable them to reach their full potential, free from violence, exploitation, and abuse.

Alternative Care for Children in Southern Africa: Progress, Challenges and Future Directions

UNICEF, 09 Jan 2009

This report, prepared for UNICEF East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) assesses the capacity in Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia to manage alternative care systems for children.

Toolkit for Positive Change: Providing Family-Focused, Results-Driven and Cost-Effective Programming for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Save the Children Federation, 2009

Documents the strategies of The Positive Change: Children, Communities and Care (PC3) Program - a five-year (2004-2009) integrated and comprehensive program designed to provide care and support to more than half a million orphaned and vulnerable children and their families throughout the country of Ethiopia.

Preventing violence through the development of safe, stable and nurturing relationships between children and their parents and caregivers

WHO and Liverpool John Moores University, 2009

This briefing looks at the effectiveness of interventions that encourage safe, stable and nurturing relationships for preventing child maltreatment and aggressive behaviour in childhood. The focus is on primary prevention programmes, those that are implemented early enough to avoid the development of violent behaviour such as child maltreatment and childhood aggression.

My Heart is Here: Alternative Care and Reintegration of Child Trafficking Victims and Other Vulnerable Children

IOM, 2009

This study assesses the development, social integration and post-return reintegration issues facing child victims of trafficking and migration related exploitation in shelters and orphanages in Cambodia.

ARC resource pack: Study material - Foundation module 6: Community mobilisation

ARC, 2009

This module on community mobilisation has been developed as a resource for those humanitarian and emergency workers whose engagement with child protection, brings them into contact with communities.

Faces of Positive Change: Highlighting Positive Change in the Lives of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia

Save the Children Federation, 2009

Highlights successes and lessons learned from the PC3 Program. Serves as a companion piece to the Toolkit for Positive Change

India: The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): A centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government-Civil Society Partnership

The Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development , 2009

In 2006 the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development proposed the adoption of an Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), which was adopted and launched by the central government in 2009-2010. Recognizing chronic under funding of child protection services in the country and major gaps in the system, the ICPS was expected to significantly contribute to the realization of Government/State responsibility by creating a system that would effectively and efficiently protect children.

Community-Centered Integrated Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Rwanda

Agnès Binagwaho, Julia Noguchi, Marie-Noëlle Senyana-Mottier, Mary C. Smith Fawzi - JOINT LEARNING INITIATIVE ON CHILDREN AND HIV/AIDS, 15 Sep 2008

The overall goal of this case study is to provide in sufficient detail the process that follows from initial ideas/ vision, government policy development, the creation of national strategic plan of action, local (district-level) program and work plan development, and ultimately program implementation, including monitoring and evaluation (M&E).

Social Protection for Children in the Context of HIV and AIDS: Moving Towards a More Integrated Vision

Kara Greenblot, 01 Jul 2008

Discusses the crucial need to address social vulnerability, in addition to economic vulnerability, when formulating social protection strategies