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.

Displaying 1421 - 1430 of 1759

Browse Other Topics

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Observations Regarding Alternative Care

BCN Secretariat , 09 Jul 2010

In June 2010, the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its Concluding Observations to countries reviewed during the Committee's 54th session. This brief summarizes the UNCRC observations regarding alternative care.

Gender-sensitive social protection and the MDGs: Gender dynamics cut across all eight of the Millennium Development Goals

Overseas Development Institute , 01 Jul 2010

This briefing paper draws on ODI’s research on social protection and gender in eight countries and three regions funded by DFID and AusAID and discusses how social protection interventions can promote an inter¬linked gender-sensitive approach to the MDGs.

Family engagement: Bulletin for professionals

Child Welfare Information Gateway, 01 Jun 2010

Family engagement is the foundation of good casework practice that promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families in the US child welfare system. This brief offers information to help State child welfare managers improve family engagement across program areas.

Minimum Standards: Placement in Foster Care in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Jasmina Selimović - Save the Children UK, 01 Jun 2010

This document contains the minimum standards for placing children in foster care in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Minimum Standards includes service specifications, instruments for monitoring compliance with standards, and guidelines for use of the minimum standards for day centers for children with developmental disabilities.

Improving Care Options for Children in Ethiopia through Understanding Institutional Child Care and Factors Driving Institutionalization

Family Health International , 01 Jun 2010

Findings and recommendations of the first national study of its kind in Ethiopia to study child care institutions, institutionalized children, and factors driving institutionalization.

The Development of Gate-Keeping functions in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS Lessons from Bulgaria, Kazakhstan and Ukraine

Andy Bilson , 01 Jun 2010

This report looks at children who enter institutional care because of being without parental care, children with disabilities, child victims of abuse and children in conflict with the law. The aim is to identify key routes through the systems in order to understand the nature of the difficulties that lead children to be placed in institutions and thereby to be able to identify alternative strategies that will better support families and children.

Children and adolescents without parental care in Latin America: Contexts, causes and consequences of being deprived of the right to family and community

RELAF and SOS Children’s Villages International, 01 Jun 2010

This paper is based on The Latin American Report: The situation of children in Latin America without parental care or at risk of losing it. Contexts, causes and responses, which was prepared using reports from 13 countries in the region. The paper gives an overview of the state of one of the most fundamental rights - the right to parental care, a keystone for the right to live in a family and a community.

Baseline Study: Children's Perceptions of Child Protection Measures Existing at Community Level in Rwanda

Enrico Rampazzo and Alfred Twahirwa - Save the Children, 01 May 2010

This participatory baseline is part of a multi-country study commissioned by Save the Children targeting selected areas of Rwanda, Ethiopia and North-Sudan. The purpose of the multi-country study is to address the UN Study on Violence Against Children’s recommendations and assess the role of communities in ensuring that children are protected from violence and abuse at all levels.

Child Protection Systems Mapping and Assessment Toolkit

UNICEF , 01 May 2010

Assists in the development and application of an analytic tool for mapping and assessing existing child protection policies, laws and services for adequacy and to identify obstacles and opportunities in implementation, especially in reaching vulnerable or excluded groups.

Establishing, reviewing and implementing National Plans of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Southern and East Africa

Save the Children UK, Southern and Eastern Africa Regional Office , 30 Apr 2010

This report focuses on the experiences of Save the Children in monitoring, implementing and reviewing NPAs in Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Each of the country offices commissioned the documentation of case studies to identify promising practices and challenges around effective implementation of NPAs.