The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children were endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th November 2009, in connection with the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This momentous day marked a culmination of years of discussions and negotiations led by the Government of Brazil, in partnership with Group of Friends and civil society. The Guidelines were designed to provide further guidance regarding the definition of the relationship between parental care and the child’s family environment, goals for alternative care, and the criteria for decisions of alternative care placements. The Guidelines target both policy and practice with specific regard to the protection and wellbeing of children deprived of parental care or who are at risk of being so.
The full text of the resolution and the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children is also available in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Chinese and Russian.
