Webinar Recording: Breaking the Cycle; Changing the Narrative

Transform Alliance Africa (TAA), Child's i Foundation

The webinar, hosted by Transform Alliance Africa, provides an overview of the progress and findings from our youth wellbeing project. The youth wellbeing project is a community mental health initiative led by care experienced youth that aims to develop a safe transition pathway for young people leaving orphanages and provide support to young people experiencing well being and mental health challenges in the community.

Committee on the Rights of the Child 2021 Day of General Discussion: Outcome Report and Recommendations

The purpose of this outcome document is to provide summaries of plenary sessions and the five working groups that took place during the DGD, and to present a comprehensive set of recommendations on the key themes covered during the preparatory processes leading up to the DGD, including through hundreds of written submissions, a global survey of children and young people with care experience, and during the DGD itself.

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The South African Child Gauge 2021/2022: Child and Adolescent Mental Health

The Children's Institute - University of Cape Town

This sixteenth issue of the South African Child Gauge focuses attention on child and adolescent mental health and how early experiences of adversity ripple out across the life course and generations at great cost to individuals and society. It calls on South African society to put children at the centre of all policies in order to protect children from harm, build their capacity to cope with stress and adversity, and provide them with opportunities to thrive.

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How Can We Support Children Fleeing Ukraine?

Eurochild

Eurochild has carried out an urgent mapping, with support from its members, UNICEF country teams and government representatives across 13 countries. The mapping examines the laws and policies at national level for children in alternative care and unaccompanied and separated children from Ukraine who arrive in the following countries: Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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How can we support Ukraine?

Discussion Paper on Guardianship, Care Arrangements and Custodial Responsibilities for Unaccompanied and Separated Children Fleeing Ukraine and Arriving in the European Union

Child Circle, UNICEF, Eurochild

This discussion paper addresses issues facing unaccompanied and separated children fleeing Ukraine and arriving in the European Union (EU). In particular, it focuses on the priority issue of how care and custodial arrangements and guardianship under child protection and migration measures are established within EU Member States. This question has implications for how children access protection, how information on their circumstances is managed and ultimately how durable solutions are identified and secured for children.

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Un curs de formare în prim ajutor psihologic pentru îngrijitorii de copii care au suferit o traumă

Catholic Relief Services

Această formare rapidă a fost concepută pentru a oferi informații familiilor de plasament (foster care) din Moldova în vederea pregătirii pentru plasamentul copiilor neînsoțiți și separați din Ucraina. Pachetul de formare include un PPT și un ghid al facilitatorului. Conținutul oferit în timpul programului de formare de șase ore include informații de bază despre traumele din copilărie, experiențele adverse din copilărie, elementele-cheie ale PFA, inclusiv "Privește, Ascultă și Leagă”, precum și înțelegerea modului în care se pot identifica și sprijini atât copiii care au trecut prin traume, cât și modul în care acestea se pot manifesta la diferite vârste și etape de dezvoltare.

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Care Leavers’ Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of COVID-19: Understanding Pathways, Experiences and Outcomes to Improve Policy and Practice

Emily R. Munro, Seana Friel, Claire Baker, Amy Lynch, Kirsche Walker, Jane Williams, Erica Cook, Angel Chater

The Care Leavers, COVID-19 and Transition from Care (CCTC) study explored how COVID-19 impacted on care leavers’ lives and their pathways out of care; examining where young people went, what services and support they received, and how young people got on.

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Care Leavers’ Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of COVID-19: Understanding Pathways, Experiences and Outcomes to Improve Policy and Practice

‘One Hand Does Not Bring Up a Child:’ Child Fostering Among Single Mothers in Nairobi Slums

Cassandra Cotton, Shelley Clark, Sangeetha Madhavan

Childrearing in sub-Saharan Africa is often viewed as collaborative, where children benefit from support from kin. For single mothers living in informal settlements, kin networks may be highly dispersed and offer little day-to-day childrearing support, but may provide opportunities for child fostering. This study conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, uses a linked lives approach, where single mothers’ connections with kin and romantic partners may influence whether – and what type of – kin are relied on to support child fostering.

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Cognitive Flexibility Moderates the Association Between Maltreatment and Emotion Regulation in Residential Care Children of the Middle Childhood Period

Laetitia Melissande Amedee, Laurence Cyr-Desautels, Houria Benard, Katherine Pascuzzo, Karine Dubois-Comtois, Martine Hebert, Celia Matte-Gagne, Chantal Cyr

The purpose of this study was to examine, in a sample of residential care children, the moderating role of cognitive flexibility in the association between maltreatment and emotion regulation competencies. The sample included 69 children aged 8 to 12 and their group home educator as their primary caretaker. Educators completed questionnaires evaluating child emotion regulation competencies and cognitive flexibility.

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Honouring Care-Experienced Mokopuna Māori: Creating Conditions for Wellbeing

Tahirah Materoa Moton

This article presents Kaupapa Māori research undertaken by a mokopuna Māori with the lived experience of state care in New Zealand, alongside established Kaupapa Māori researchers. Literature containing the voices of care-experienced mokopuna Māori was reviewed to explore what conditions exist and are needed to uphold wellbeing.

Associations Between Out-of-Home Care and Mental Health Disorders Within and Across Generations in a Swedish Birth Cohort

Viviane S. Straatmanna, Josephine Jackischa, Lars Brännström, Ylva B. Almquista

Previous studies have shown that mental health disorders (MHD) among parents might be an important mechanism in the intergenerational transmission of out-of-home care (OHC). The current study aimed to further study this interplay by investigating the associations between OHC and MHD within and across generations in a Swedish cohort.

Preventing Human Trafficking of Refugees from Ukraine: A Rapid Assessment of Risks and Gaps in the Anti-Trafficking Response

Suzanne Hoff, Eefje de Volder

This report aims to provide a rapid assessment of the risks of trafficking and exploitation created by the war in Ukraine and the gaps in the current anti-trafficking response, in order to identify what needs to be done now to reduce and prevent trafficking before it is too late. This rapid assessment is based on desktop research; interviews/discussions with organisations, experts and participants in the anti-trafficking response including volunteers, translators, refugees, and displaced people; and a field visit to Poland.

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Discrepancies Between Foster Care Entry and Mental Health Service Use for Black and Latinx Youth

Mehar N. Singh, Omar G. Gudiño

Black and Latinx youth are more likely to be placed into foster care compared to non-Latinx white youth. Foster care placement can facilitate mental health service use, yet youth from marginalized and oppressed racial and ethnic groups in foster care are still less likely to receive mental health services compared to non-Latinx white youth. This study aims to examine this discrepancy Black and Latinx youth face by testing (a) whether mental health need moderates the relationship between race or ethnicity and foster care placement and (b) whether race or ethnicity moderates the relationship between foster care placement and mental health service use.

‘Learning to Hold a Paradox’: A Narrative Review of How Ambiguous Loss and Disenfranchised Grief Affects Children in Care

Jude Leitch

Separation and loss characterise a child’s experience in care, yet losses in the care-experienced population have rarely been studied as a possible source of trauma or as events that may justify a grief response. A literature search of five databases yielded 592 publications. 41 full text articles were reviewed, 16 publications were included. Thematic analysis revealed: children in care are affected by two broad type of ambiguous loss, relationship losses and psychosocial losses; behaviours labelled as ‘problem’ behaviours may in fact be indicators of the manifestations of ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief; manifold ambiguous losses associated with multiple placement moves has a cumulative effect that can generate long-term negative consequences; the effects of ambiguous loss can be offset by supporting children in care to understand that their losses may not be resolvable, to build tolerance to this ambiguity, to rebuild their identity through forging permanent connections, and to make meaning of their situations.

Antecedents to Child Placement in Residential Care: A Systematic Review

Nicole G. Wilke, Amanda Hiles Howard, Sarah Todorov, Justine Bautista, Jedd Medefind

Individual studies suggest most children and youth in residential care centres (RCCs) have living parents, and parental death is not the primary antecedent to placement in residential care. The goal of the present review was to examine the literature to better understand the primary antecedents to placement in RCCs overall. One hundred thirty-two studies, including 60,683 children in 47 nations meet eligibility criteria for inclusion for the overarching review of antecedents of placement.

The Relationships Between Resilience, Care Environment, and Social-Psychological Factors in Orphaned and Separated Adolescents in Western Kenya

Sarah C. Sutherland, Harry S. Shannon, David Ayuku, David L. Streiner, Olli Saarela, Lukoye Atwoli & Paula Braitstein

This study found a strong relationship between the care environment and resilience in orphaned and separated adolescents and youths (OSAY) in western Kenya. Care environment and resilience each independently demonstrated strong relationships with peer support, social support, and participating in volunteer activities. Resilience also had a strong relationship with familial support. These data suggest that resilience can be developed through strategic supports to this vulnerable population.

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South Korea’s Legacy of Orphan Adoption and the Violation of Adoptees’ Rights to Know their Origins

Kyung-eun Lee

South Korea experienced international scrutiny over its irregular intercountry adoption practices in the 1980s. However, it eventually came to be viewed as a model of transparent and efficient adoptions. This façade disguises an orphan adoption system that has become entrenched over the decades. Today, adoptees continue to lobby for their right to origins. This paper explores South Korea’s laws and policies, which nullified the rights of adoptees, and it calls for receiving countries to assume co-responsibility to restore these rights.

Are Local Authorities Achieving Effective Market Stewardship for Children's Social Care Services? A Synthesis of Sufficiency Strategies for Children in Care in England

Anders M Bach-Mortensen, Hannah Murray, Benjamin Goodair, Eleanor Carter, Eleanor Briggs, Aoife O’Higgins - What Works for Children's Social Care

This report provides analysis of all up-to-date LA sufficiency strategies with a focus on identifying (I) the main perceived challenges for local authorities (LAs) to meet their sufficiency duty, (II) what actions are being undertaken or planned by LAs to improve commissioning outcomes, and (III) perceived negative consequences associated with using certain commissioning or market shaping approaches. This work was commissioned by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

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Impact of Parental Migration on Education and Behavioural Outcomes of Children Left Behind in Southern Wollo

Getnet Tesfaw, Abebaw Minaye

The migration of parents is believed to be for the sake of children and families left behind. However, its impact on children left behind has been overlooked in Southern Wollo, Ethioipia. The impact of parental migration on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind has to be investigated in the migration-prone area. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the migration of parent(s) on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind.

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COVID Reveals Flaws in the Protection of Girls in Uganda: Recommendations on how to tackle sexual and gender-based violence

Viola Nilah Nyakato, Elizabeth Kemigisha, Margaret Tuhumwire, Eleanor Fisher - The Nordic Africa Institute

Through 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic led to prolonged school closures in Uganda. These closures exacerbated sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against girls.

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