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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Country Care Review: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Better Care Network, 10 Feb 2009

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Promoting Synergies between Child Protection and Social Protection: West and Central Africa

UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa, 01 Feb 2009

Focuses on children’s vulnerabilities and risks related to an absence of protection from violence, abuse and neglect, and the ways in which measures to address such vulnerabilities and risks can be more effectively integrated into social protection policy frameworks in the West and Central Africa region.

Alternative Care for Children in Southern Africa: Progress, Challenges and Future Directions

UNICEF, 09 Jan 2009

This report, prepared for UNICEF East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) assesses the capacity in Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia to manage alternative care systems for children.

Communiqué: Social Welfare and Cash Transfer Meeting, Carmona Spain

Carmona Social Welfare and Cash Transfer Meeting Participants, 04 Jan 2009

Experts gathered in Carmona Spain to examine the results of policy relevant systemic reviews on social welfare and cash transfers. Meeting delegates explored the findings of reviews on integration of social welfare services and cash transfers in Ghana, Chile, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya.

Child Development Index

Save the Children UK, 2009

Analysis of the considerable variation between countries, globally and within regions in terms of the rights, opportunities and wellbeing that children enjoy and the national political and policy choices affecting them.

India: The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): A centrally Sponsored Scheme of Government-Civil Society Partnership

The Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development , 2009

In 2006 the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development proposed the adoption of an Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), which was adopted and launched by the central government in 2009-2010. Recognizing chronic under funding of child protection services in the country and major gaps in the system, the ICPS was expected to significantly contribute to the realization of Government/State responsibility by creating a system that would effectively and efficiently protect children.

Manual for the Measurement of Indicators for Children in Formal Care

Better Care Network and UNICEF, 2009

Manual to assist countries in strengthening their information system around children in formal care through data collection around 15 global indicators

Doing Better for Children: The Way Forward, Chapter 7

Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2009

This document is the seventh, and final, chapter of Doing Better for Children: The Way Forward, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The aim of this chapter is to contribute to the policy debate on child well-being, synthesising the previous chapters and drawing on the existing research and policy literature.

4th Article of the Special Series - Draft UN Guidelines for the Appropriate Use and Conditions of Alternative Care for Children

International Social Service, 2009

This article seeks to share a few examples of the implementation of the principle of the child’s right to participate from a recent desktop review conducted by ISS/IRC around the world.

Implementing Child Rights and Protection Law in Ghana : Case Study

Ahmed Bawa Kuyini & Fati K. Mahama , 2009

This study examined the implementation of Ghana’s child rights legislation (Children’s Act 560) in four districts in respect of the establishment of prescribed administrative and institutional structures, the service delivery procedures, and challenges.