Children Affected by Poverty and Social Exclusion

Around the world, poverty and social exclusion are driving factors behind the placement of children into alternative care. Families give up their children because they are too poor to care for them, or they feel that it is the best way to help them to access basic services such as education and health care. Discrimination and cultural taboos mean that girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, children with HIV/AIDS and children born out of wedlock, make up a disproportionate number of children abandoned into alternative care.

Poor-quality alternative care leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and inequality. With limited family-based alternative care options in many countries, children often end up in institutional care. Already marginalized by poverty or stigmatization, they risk becoming further excluded from society, as they grow up separated from their families and communities. In the worst cases, inadequate or unsafe care standards expose them to neglect, violence and abuse. When they eventually leave institutional care, young adults may then struggle to reintegrate into their communities and face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, chronic poverty, depression and even suicide.

Greater political and financial commitment is needed to tackle the poverty and social exclusion that drives families to give up their children. This includes wide-ranging measures to combat poverty, discrimination and stigmatization, to change attitudes towards single parenthood and disability, and to adopt social policies promoting family empowerment and parenting skills. Greater priority must also be given to developing good-quality family-based care options, such as foster care and adoption, for the girls and boys who need alternative families.

The documents in this section examine the relationship between poverty, social exclusion and placement of children in alternative care.

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Introducing Routine Assessment of Adverse Childhood Experiences For Looked-After Children: The Use and Properties of the Trauma and Adverse Life Events (TALE) Screening Tool

Asa Kerr-Davis, Saul Hillman, Katharine Anderson, Richard Cross , 28 Jun 2023

This UK-based paper presents evidence of the importance of screening looked-after children for Adverse Childhood Experiences and demonstrates that the Trauma and Adverse Life Events (TALE) is a valid and reliable tool for this purpose. Adverse and traumatic experiences were highly prevalent in this population and appeared to be closely related with children’s psychosocial wellbeing.

Webinar #14 - Foster Care for Children on the Move: The Gambia Experience

Transforming Children's Care Collaborative, 21 Jun 2023

The objective of this webinar was to present the best practices learnt in the implementation of the foster care system as an alternative to limited child care institutions for children on the move in The Gambia.

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Psychosocial Support Services to Enhance Wellbeing of Orphaned and Vulnerable Learners in Eswatini Early Childhood Centres and Primary Schools

Patronella Bimha, Maureen Nokuthula Sibiya, 20 Jun 2023

This exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study analyses factors that enhance the provision of psychosocial support services and the perceptions of educators towards psychosocial support delivery to orphaned and vulnerable learners in Eswatini.

Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed Households: Exploring ‘Educare’ Support at a Zimbabwean School

Ricanos Jaure, Alfred Henry Makura, 20 Jun 2023

This research chapter sought to explore the fusion of education and care in schools in Zimbabwe as a holistic system of support for the left-behind at a school where left-behind children expend most of their time.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: Prevalence, Contributing and Protective Factors, and Effective Interventions: A Scoping Review

Charles Oberg, Hayley Sharma, 26 May 2023

The objective of this global study was to review the current literature regarding PTSD in unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). The authors concluded that the high levels of mental health problems experienced in URM are due to exposure to traumatic experiences, separation from parents, and lack of social support.

Why and How do Parents Secretly Abandon their Children? The psychosocial burden they went through: Qualitative case study in Gondar City, Ethiopia

Yassin Mohammed Yesuf, Adonawit Ayalew Bewketu, Habib Seid Ahmed , 19 May 2023

This study explored the lived experiences of mothers/fathers who secretly abandoned their children in Ethiopia.

La Lutte Contre le Suicide dans les Contextes Humanitaires

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

Cette note d'orientation vise à aider les responsables de la mise en œuvre des programmes, les coordinateurs et les autres acteurs humanitaires à lutter contre le suicide et l'automutilation dans les contextes humanitaires.

IASC Guidance, Addressing Suicide in Humanitarian Settings

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

This guidance note aims to support programme implementers, coordinators, and other humanitarian actors in addressing suicide and self-harm in humanitarian settings.

人道主义背景下自杀问题应对指南

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

本指导说明旨在支持项目实施者、协调员和其他人道主义行为者解决人道主义环境中的自杀和自残问题。它汇集了范围广泛的方法、工具、参考资料和案例示例。它是一种实用而简洁的资源，适用于所有类型的紧急情况、组织和部门。

Abordar el suicidio en contextos humanitarios: Directrices

Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IASC MHPSS RG), 22 Dec 2022

Esta nota de orientación tiene como objetivo ayudar a los implementadores de programas, coordinadores y otros actores humanitarios a abordar el suicidio y las autolesiones en entornos humanitarios. Reúne una amplia gama de enfoques, herramientas, materiales de referencia y ejemplos de casos. Es un recurso práctico y conciso aplicable a todo tipo de emergencias, organizaciones y sectores.