Child Care and Protection Policies

Child care and protection policies regulate the care of children, including the type of support and assistance to be offered, good practice guidelines for the implementation of services, standards for care, and adequate provisions for implementation. They relate to the care a child receives at and away from home.

States and all organisations with child care programmes should have child care policies which are in line with national legislation and international law, e.g. the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In line with the CRC, emphasis should be placed on the child’s best interests, with support to families prioritised in order to prevent family separation. Good gatekeeping mechanisms are essential in ensuring families receive the services they need and are entitled to, and to guard against inappropriate placement into poor care arrangements.

Home-based care, day care, and other family support services are mechanisms for assisting families in providing for the child’s development and, when used appropriately, can prevent child separation. When a child is unable to remain at home, alternative forms of community based care should be prioritised, such as formal kinship care or foster care. The use of institutions should be highlighted as a last and temporary measure. All support and care provisions should outline the referral and admission process, the use of care plans, regular reviews, rehabilitation, and aftercare procedures.

Child protection legislation which recognises that abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect, and may be carried out by parents, caretakers, children and other adults is required. All agencies working with children should have written child protection policies which respect the rights of the child. Policies should outline behaviours and actions which are unacceptable, provide standards for the appropriate care of children, and clear guidelines on what procedures to follow and by whom, including reporting mechanisms for suspected abuse to an assigned authority for investigation.

Child care and protection policies require resources and monitoring of standards to ensure their appropriate implementation. Adequate provision and training of child care and social work staff is required to deliver family support services and alternatives forms of child care. All staff working with children should be trained and supervised in providing appropriate care for children, identifying abuse, and responding appropriately.

The literature in this section contains country reports and examples of national and organisational child care and protection policies.

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National Multisectoral Child Protection Strategy, Plan of Action (Lesotho)

Kingdom of Lesotho, 01 May 2014

This document presents the Kingdom of Lesotho's National Multisectoral Child Protection Strategy 2014–2018 and a Costed Plan of Action for 2014-2016. The document is a more detailed operational document, setting out a road map for actions from July 2014 through to March 2017.

Why Care Matters: The importance of adequate care for children and society

Family For Every Child, Corinna Csaky, 01 May 2014

This report highlights the needs of children without adequate family care, the impact inadequate care on children and society, and why family care is important. In this report, Family for Every Child also issues several recommendations for those in all sectors of society and an example of care reform from Brazil.

Draft Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002 - 2014

Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, 28 Apr 2014

This report documents the developmental journey taken by the Government of Sierra Leone (GSL) towards the protection, promotion and fulfilment of the rights of all of its children as protected by the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC).

Out of home care in Norway and Sweden - similar and different

Elisabeth Backe-Hansen, Ingrid Højer, Yvonne Sjöblom, Jan Storø, 15 Apr 2014

This article provides an overview of the current situation in the out-of-home care in Norway and Sweden. Development in later years is described and discussed, including the trends towards privatization of the welfare system in both countries and the role of private, commercial actors within the care sector including out-of-home care for children and young people.

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Alternative Care Briefing of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Better Care Network (BCN), International Social Service (ISS), Save the Children, and SOS Children's Villages , 12 Apr 2014

This presentation, produced by Better Care Network (BCN), International Social Service (ISS), Save the Children, and SOS Children's Villages, was given at a 2014 briefing of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC). The objectives of the Alternative Care Briefing were to increase the understanding of and recommendations on the implementation of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children when reviewing State Party Reports and drafting general recommendations and to create opportunities to promote the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in its 5th anniversary.

Exiling Children, Creating Orphans: When Immigration Policies Hurt Citizens

Luis H. Zayas and Mollie H. Bradlee, 08 Apr 2014

Deportation of immigrant, undocumented parents of citizen-children born in the United States is a practice that has caused the separation of families and a variety of negative effects on the children.

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Inspections of Children’s Homes: Evaluation Schedule and Grade Descriptors from 1 April 2014

Ofsted, UK, 01 Apr 2014

This evaluation schedule set out the areas that inspectors will make judgements on when they inspect children’s homes in the UK. It should be read alongside the framework for the inspection of children’s homes.

Family Group Conferencing and Kinship Care: Australasian perspectives

Professor Marie Connolly of the University of Melbourne, 01 Apr 2014

This webinar presentation by Professor Marie Connolly of the University of Melbourne introduces the history and background of Family Group Conference (FGC) in New Zealand and Australia and discusses the influence of FGC on the development of formal or statutory kinship care in the region.

Australia: Whose responsibility is it? Supporting the needs of informal kinship care

Professor Marie Connolly, 28 Mar 2014

In this presentation Professor Connolly reviews recent trends in the use of kinship care in Australia and discusses what this shift means in the context of the ‘residual’ model of child protection used in the country.

Understanding Care Leavers in Russia: Young People's Experiences of Institutionalisation

Evgenia Stepanova & Simon Hackett , 13 Mar 2014

This paper presents the findings of a survey of Russian care leavers. The emphasis is on care leavers' experiences of the Russian institutional care system, and the issues that impacted on their postcare transition to adulthood.

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