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Confronted with the question of why so many Cambodian children live in orphanages, government officials point to a startling fact. Many of these children are not orphans, at least in the traditional sense. Their parents place them in residential care, often for better educational opportunities. Other Cambodian youth are living on the street or in informal dwellings, sometimes away from family. But an accurate estimate of how many young people are living in these vulnerable situations is unknown.
A new video describes a Mailman School-led study to assess the size of the problem.…
This blog post by UNICEF describes how the Disability Rights Initiative-Cambodia, a joint Australian Government-United Nations program to improve quality of life for children with disability and their families, is having an impact for one family in Cambodia. Sun Chhea , whose daughter has severe cerebral palsy, received a small grant as part of this program to drive income generation, and she has been able to open a grocery stall as a result.
Chhea’s is one of 484 families in Prey Veng, Svay Rieng and Kandal provinces and in the capital of Phnom Penh who have…
This presentation given to the World Bank in May 2007 describes a study conducted in Cambodia on the situation and needs of children with disabilities and their families. The presentation outlines the rationale for the study, the methodology and results of the study, and the primary issues that the study identified. The presentation also reviews recommendations based on the study findings, including the need for screening and early detection, community-based intervention services for children and families that are accessible and low-cost, and inter-sectoral partnerships. The presentation also…
This study investigates the impact of reintegration of children from five transitional shelters into their families in Cambodia, and explores key factors (such as consistent and regular follow-up), that contribute to positive, stable outcomes for them.
This report describes the outcomes of the joint DCOF/UNICEF visit to Cambodia to assess a three-year, DCOF-funded project on Strengthening Systems to Protect Vulnerable Children and Families in Cambodia.
This report discusses a number of topics, such as the continuing focus on formal child protection systems, issues related to the reliance on residential care and its negative impact on young children, and issues faced by older care leavers. It questions the need for a very complex electronic database on residential care, briefly discusses social work training, expresses some concerns on…
This video features a segment of a talk on the effects of care environments on children, hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans. The key speakers featured include Dr. Kathryn Whetten & Dr. Charles Nelson, who discuss the Positive Outcomes for Orphans study (POFO) and the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), respectively.
Dr. Nelson speaks about the institutionalization of children and its impact on the brain development of institutionalized children. Many children in institutions, says Dr. Nelson, experience isolation, a lack of response to distress, a…
This brief provides an overview of alternative care in Cambodia, including key achievements, challenges and recommended actions for preventing and regulating residential care, and strengthening family-based care.
A 2011 UNICEF report revealed that amongst the 12,000 children in Cambodia’s orphanages, almost three quarters of them have one living parent. The number of children in care has more than doubled in five years despite the National Policy on Alternative Care for Children adopted by the Kingdom of Cambodia in 2006 which “aims to ensure that children grow up in a family and in a community environment that promotes the principle that institutional care should be a last resort and a temporary solution for children”.
In Cambodia’s northwest province of Battambang, the number of orphanages…
EveryChild is an international development charity working in 17 countries with a strategic focus on children without parental care. This document outlines EveryChild’s approach to the growing problem of children without parental care by defining key concepts, analysing the nature and extent of the problem, exploring factors which place children at risk of losing parental care, and examining the impact of a loss of parental care on children’s rights. It also provides principles for good practice in trying to reduce the number of children without parental…
This document presents the full policy on the alternative care of children in Cambodia. It includes descriptions of the models of alternative care, including non-residential care (foster care, kinship care, adoption, etc), and residential care. The policy also presents minimum standards for the alternative care of children. The document highlights specific objectives for alternative care, including for those children affected by HIV/AIDS, those with disabilities, and those in conflict with the law. The policy also includes specifications for children in Pagoda and other faith-based care and…