This paper presents findings from a qualitative study exploring the views of 26 children, aged 6–17 years, about their participation in the child protection system in England.
This paper builds on a recent evaluation of the piloting of the continental European model of social pedagogy (SP) in English residential care. It does three things: it considers the theoretical social policy literature on policy transfer and its implications; discusses European residential care for children and the discipline of SP; and reflects on these debates and the situation of children's residential care in England.
This paper uses findings from interviews with 169 children and young people across 11 local authorities in England and 5 Social Work Practices (SWPs), undertaken as part of a 3-year national matched control evaluation of pilot SWPs, to identify key elements of good quality practitioner relationships with children or young people.
This study examined stress, coping and psychological adjustment of 68 children, aged 8–12, who were internationally adopted to Spain.
The overall objective of this study was to deepen understanding on the experiences and support systems of grandparent-headed households with children of prisoners (CoP) in Uganda.
This paper examines the emergence of a small but growing number of male caregivers who are responding to the needs of the extended family.
This report reviews South Africa’s National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy, which was approved by the Cabinet in December 2015. The policy is aimed at providing a framework for multi-sectoral Early Childhood Development services in South Africa.
This policy report from Kids Count outlines the impacts that parental incarceration has on children, and on communities as a whole, particularly in the context of mass incarceration in the United States. The report concludes with recommendations for investing in families to mediate the detrimental effects of parental incarceration, which disproportionately affects people of color in the United States.
The CPC Learning Network held its biennial meeting, Evolving Methods for an Expanding Field: Global Research with Children and Families in Adversity, on 21 and 22 June 2016. The meeting aimed at presenting innovative research on international child protection and family welfare and identifying key knowledge gaps and ways to collaborate to fill those gaps.
This presentation, given at the Fifth Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking 2013, describes a research paper that examines the connection between foster care and human trafficking in the United States with special emphasis on sex trafficking.
This report from UNICEF highlights the many dangers, risks, and challenges faced by unaccompanied refugee and migrant children travelling to Europe on their own to escape conflict, poverty, or other forms of oppression.
ISS has developed a handbook for professionals working in the adoption field that provides guidance on how to respond when illegal practices have been identified in an adoption case.
This Factsheet from the Child Welfare Information Gateway provides information for families who are reunifying after placement in foster care the US.
This toolkit is primarily for individuals working at organisations that assist and support children and young people in their reintegration back into families and communities. The toolkit will be of particular relevance to individuals who are involved in the planning of programmes and the implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities. The toolkit provides ideas, examples and suggestions of how organisations could collect monitoring and evaluation data with, from and about the children and young people they work with.
The aim of this component of a preliminary cross-national study (Ireland and Catalonia) of care leavers' experience in the world of work is to explore how carers may influence the entry of young people in care into the world of work and how they may also influence the young people's progress in that world.
This report includes a summary of each of the panel discussions at the symposium, as well as the questions asked, and provides the text of the opening and closing remarks from the event.
This paper from the U.S. National Academy of Medicine argues the importance of investment in early childhood development and serves as a call to action “to close the gap between what is known and what is done to support the development of children globally and, in turn, sustainable progress for communities and nations.”
This report “seeks to map Australia’s contribution to residential care institutions for children overseas across a number of sectors and identify opportunities for strategic engagement with various stakeholders in the Australian context.”
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for interventions aimed at improving the quality of contact visits between parents and their children who are in out-of-home care.
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In this TED Talk, Tara Winkler, the Managing Director of the Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT), discusses the detrimental impacts that family separation and orphanage placement have on children and speaks out against donating to, or supporting, orphanages in developing countries.
The London School of Economics Volunteer Centre and the Better Volunteering Better Care Initiative have collaborated to develop a pledge that can be adopted by universities and other institutions of higher or further education. By adding this pledge to their websites, universities and other supporters promise not to advertise orphanage volunteering trips to students and to “endeavour to ensure that such opportunities are neither facilitated nor promoted within our institution.”
Drawing on ethnographic research with five child heads and their siblings in Zimbabwe, this article explores how orphaned children living in ‘child only’ households organise themselves in terms of household domestic and paid work roles, explores the socialisation of children by children and the negotiation of teenage girls' movement.
In this article, the microsimulator SOCSIM is used to estimate and project quantities such as the number of living uncles, aunts, siblings, and grandparents available to orphans in Zimbabwe.
The overall objective of the study was to compile, consolidate and validate available information on children affected by AIDS, in order to facilitate the development of a long-term national strategy aimed at promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of these vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.
This report from SOS Children’s Villages presents a critical analysis of the Zimbabwe’s compliance with the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children which found “yawning gaps” between the laws and policies in place and the actual experiences of children on the ground.
This study explores barriers and possible incentives to orphan care in Zimbabwe.
This study uses recent data from published studies in sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate deficits and document community responses for children who have lost parents to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
This study investigated mental health problems among children affected by HIV/AIDS, compared with control groups of children orphaned by other causes, and non-orphans.
This report from Human Rights Watch focuses on the institutionalization of children with disabilities in Serbia.
Kinnected is a program run in 10 countries by the organization ACCI Relief aimed at preserving and strengthening families and assisting children currently in residential care to achieve their right to be raised in a family. This report describes Kinnected’s programs and initiatives underway in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Lesotho and includes some individual case studies.
Este documento provee una explicación detallada de las razones que Better Volunteering Better Care está desalentando el voluntariado internacional en orfanatos (centros de atención residencial).
This report presents research on the impact of two cash transfer programs for vulnerable children in South Africa on children’s care.
The aim of this mixed-method study was to explore the trajectories of leaving home, and views and experiences among children and youth in the Kagera region in Tanzania, who have lived on the streets or been domestic workers.
This study investigated the widely-used but under-researched program for training resource parents (i.e., foster, adoptive, or kinship parents) known as preservice PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education). The sample consisted of 174 participants in Ontario, Canada.
This study sought to answer whether children – who have alternative caregiving options - will still express attachment to their maltreating parent.
This study documents the rates at which children involved with foster care [in the United States] enter the juvenile justice system (crossover or dually involved), and the factors associated with this risk.
This article from the Case Western Reserve Law Review journal in the United States presents a proposal to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the rehoming of adopted children in the United States.
The purpose of this article is to provide psychologists and adoption researchers with a conceptual model for the psychosocial adjustment of foster care adoptees with a background of maltreatment.
This article begins by summarizing the scholarly literature on the "Sixties Scoop," a period in Canadian history in which an estimated 20,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were removed from their families, and describes a proposed theoretical framework of Indigenous adoptee identity reclamation emerging from my reflexive process in writing a critical personal narrative.
This paper examines the immigration of children from Central America to the USA by setting the context of immigration across the USA–Mexico border, reviewing the extent and causes of the influx in immigration, and detailing the political, legal, and social work responses to the child migrants.
This thesis study evaluates the fidelity of a rural Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Georgia, USA. The CASA program trains volunteers to serve as special legal representation for children in the court system who have been abused or neglected.
This year’s report on Global Slavery makes reference to orphanage tourism in the context of Cambodia.
This special report from the Ministry of Children and Family Development in British Columbia, Canada presents findings on the number of children in care in the province who were sent to stay in hotels.
The aim of the present paper is to systematically review the empirical studies that have analyzed the associations between poverty and cognitive development in children under 18 years of age from Latin American and Caribbean countries between 2000 and 2015.
This study focused on a particular dimension of teenage motherhood in foster care: participants' efforts to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect with their own children.
This article assesses the evidence-based programs that are most likely to improve key health and well-being outcomes for teenage mothers in the United States and yields a list that reflects the best evidence for efficacy and effectiveness.
The present study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences and meaning of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care in the United States.
The purpose of this study was to determine the factors associated with the risk of negligence in child care during the first year of rearing in adolescent and adult mothers.
El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los factores asociados al riesgo de negligencia en el cuidado del hijo durante el primer año de crianza en madres adolescentes y adultas.
The present study explored the changes resulting from the Teenage Mothers Project (TMP) in Eastern Uganda, a program that empowers unmarried teenage mothers to cope with the consequences of early pregnancy and motherhood, as well as factors that either enabled or inhibited these changes.
This research aimed to solicit the lived experiences of African Australian young refugee women who have experienced early motherhood in Australia.
This article draws on Giorgio Agamben's (1995) theory of 'bare life' to examine the identity and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in contemporary Western child protection systems to complement the primary focus on their children.
This report captures what has been accomplished in social service workforce strengthening in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and highlights areas for future intervention. Progress made to strengthen the social service workforce within these countries is useful when reflecting on global trends and ways forward.
Based on an exhaustive review of the global literature and utilising an innovative theoretical framework of ‘altruistic exploitation’, the authors explore the ironic juxtaposition of benefits and harms associated with orphan tourism to the various stakeholders.
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The researchers in this study generated population-level estimates of the relationship between maternal history of maltreatment and next-generation abuse and neglect in teenage mothers in California, USA.
The purpose of this paper is to describe hitherto unexplored issues related to sexual abuse of left-behind children of migrant women in Sri Lanka.
The Children (Amendment) Act of 2016 is an Act to amend the Children's Act Cap. 59 of Uganda to enhance the protection of children; to strengthen the provision for guardianship of children; to strengthen the conditions for intercountry adoption; to prohibit corporal punishment; to provide for the National Children Authority; repeal the National Council for Children Cap. 60 and to provide for other related matters.
This study examines whether parental migration can affect health and cognitive ability of left-behind children aged at 5-8 years old in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam.
This investigation into economic migration of Guatemalan parents shows that the timing of migration events in relation to left-behind children’s ages has important, often negative and likely permanent, repercussions on the physical development of their children.
In this episode of “File on 4” from BBC Radio, Jane Deith investigates the practice of “Special Guardianship” orders in the UK, orders that grant legal guardianship of children to relatives or others who come forward to care for children when their parents can’t.
On 22 April, BCN Netherlands organized a seminar on gatekeeping in Utrecht, Netherlands. The goal of the yearly event was to share the theoretical framework, principles and practice, and experiences on gatekeeping with a broad audience
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.
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.
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.
This document presents a call to action to meet the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS throughout the world.
This review was established to examine the reasons for, and how best to tackle, the over representation of children in care, or with experience of care, in the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
The video ‘Last Minute Orphanage’ offers an unique insight into the world of volunteering. It tells the story of 3 volunteers who travel to Cuzco Peru to volunteer for a few weeks with children.
Jo Boyden, professor of international development at Oxford University and director of its Young Lives study, has selected five books that challenge Western assumptions and beliefs about child-rearing and how children “should” be raised.
President Aquino of the Philippines has recently signed into law the “Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act,” an Act which ensures the protection of children “in times of calamity, disaster, and other emergency situations.”
This report from Save the Children outlines the rapid development that takes place in the brain in the early years of life and the crucial role that caregivers play in supporting this development.
This document reports on Udayan Care's international seminar on ‘Improving Standards of Care for Alternative Child and Youth Care: Systems, Policies and Practices’
This document includes a list of action items intended to better support community caregivers responsible for children affected by HIV.
This presentation from the "The State of the Evidence on Children’s Care" symposium, by Mindy Scott, Laura Lippman, Renee Ryberg, and Laurie DeRose of Child Trends, discusses the World Family Map project and some of its findings related to children’s care.
This report aims to raise awareness and spur action from governments, the tourism industry and civil society organisations to end the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT).
The case study, which accompanies ECPAT's Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism, tells the story of Dahlia, a 15 year-old girl from Indonesia who is a survivor of child sexual exploitation.
The case study, which accompanies the Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism, tells the story of Kate, a woman from the US who was sexually exploited as a child.
This document includes the full closing remarks and call to action from the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, presents a situational analysis of children with disabilities in Zambia and explains why disability should be at the core of care reform.
This presentation by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, presents a situational analysis of children with disabilities in Zambia and explains why disability should be at the core of care reform.
This presentation by Esther Ngulube of CMMB, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, outlines the objectives and activities of the Kusamala Project in Zambia and the key learning from this project.
This presentation by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, outlines eight strategic actions to be taken to accelerate care reform in Zambia.
This paper provides an overview of international volunteering, or “voluntourism,” and its potential vulnerability to child sexual exploitation, particularly in residential care centres.
This presentation by Janestic Twikirize and Florence Martin of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (GSSWA) and Better Care Network (BCN) respectively, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, describes the work of both organizations and highlights the importance of mutual supporting in advancing care reform efforts.
This presentation by Amy Bess & Janestic Twikirize of the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (GSSWA), given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, presents a working paper by GSSWA and BCN on the role that building the capacity of social service workers has in reforming child care systems.
This presentation from Fr. Robert Sihubwa, Chairperson of the Zambia Association of Child Care Workers, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, provides an overview of the status of child care workers in Zambia and their role in, and contributions to, care reform.
This presentation from Benson Chisanga, of the University of Zambia’s Department of Social Development Studies, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, provides basic information on opportunities for the training of the social service workforce in Zambia, focusing on levels of training, challenges, and future prospects.
This presentation from the Zambia Rising project, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, highlights the two key challenges facing Zambia’s social work workforce that Zambian delegates have identified and outlines strategies for social workforce strengthening based on an HR assessment and gap analysis.
This presentation from the Department of Social Welfare, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, describes the Zambia Law Development Commission and its work, discusses the need to integrate social protection with child protection to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families in Zambia.
This document includes the opening remarks given on the first day of the National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform in Zambia by Dr. Davy Chikamata, the Permanent Secretary of Community Development and Social Welfare, to the participants of the consultation.
This presentation from the Zambia Law Development Commission, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, describes the Zambia Law Development Commission and its work, provides an overview of the legal framework supporting child care in Zambia, and highlights potential or pending legislation related to children’s care.
This presentation from Nicholas Banda, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, outlines Zambia’s vision for child policy, covering child survival rights, child development rights, child protection rights, monitoring and evaluation, and institutional framework and implementation.
This document presents the full text of the speech delivered by Zambia’s Minister of Community Development and Social Welfare on the first day of the National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform in Zambia.
This presentation from GHR Foundation, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, presents GHR’s approach to reforming child care systems, the multiple aspects of the care system engaged, and its underlying theory of collective impact.
This presentation from Zambia's Central Statistical Office, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, provides data on children in Zambia, including the legal definition of a child, how many are living in Zambia, where they live, and their living arrangements.
This presentation from Zambia's Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, given at the Zambia National Consultation to Accelerate Care Reform, provides an overview of alternative care in Zambia, the CIF Initiative, prevention and response services, progress, strengths, opportunities, and challenges.
