Care system assessments are intended to support governments and their partners to: assess and strengthen the national, formal care system through an inclusive and participatory process looking at the current system; support country-level care reform stakeholders to build consensus on priorities and actions to advance; provide information for stakeholders in care reform to use in policy and strategy development; and set a baseline against which to track progress of strengthening national care systems overtime. Developed by Changing the Way We CareSM and informed by work of many others including Better Care Network, MEASURE evaluation, this care system assessment considers national policies and guidelines, the social service workforce, services and service delivery, monitoring and evaluation, social norms, and financing across the spectrum of prevention and alternative family-based care options. It can be adapted and contextualized for country contexts. The tools are intended to be used in a participatory, consensus-building way through meetings and workshops, which can also be done virtually.
This toolkit includes guidance for implementing the care system assessment, the assessment framework itself, and corresponding training materials. Together, this guidance document, the framework and training resources are intended to support stakeholders to plan and conduct an assessment, use assessment results to develop a national strategy and, over time, monitor progress in strengthening national care systems. The toolkit is intended to support one or more of the following:
- National government ministries, agencies and/or departments (at national or sub-national levels) with authority and oversight of the care of children within a country
- Organizations that are working with government ministries, agencies and/or departments to care for children within the country
Funding agencies who are providing financial resources to governments or organizations with care and protection of children in their mandates