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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Call to Action: Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa

Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa, 10 May 2018

The participants of the Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa titled “Spotlighting the Invisible”, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 8 - 9 May 2018, following up on the 2011 Kampala Conference and its outcomes, have issued a Call to Action "recognizing the adverse and lasting impact that gaps in access to justice have on children in Africa."

Reglamento de la Procuraduría de la Niñez y la Adolescencia de la Procuraduría General de la Nación

Procuraduría General de la Nación, 08 May 2018

El presente reglamento tiene como objeto desarrollar los procedimientos técnicos y administrativos que realiza la Procuraduría de la Niñez y la Adolescencia y sus Delegaciones Regionales en cada una de las materias que la Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez y la Adolescencia y otros cuerpos legales le asignan.

A changing child welfare workforce: What worker characteristics are valued in child welfare?

Kristen Lwin, Barbara Fallon, Nico Trocmé, John Fluke, & Faye Mishna - Child Abuse & Neglect, 07 May 2018

This study examined data from five cycles over twenty years of Ontario Incidence Studies (-1993, -1998, -2003, -2008, -2013) to provide a profile of child welfare workers.

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In-home support or out of home care? Thresholds for intervention with abused and neglected children

Nina Biehal, Helen Baldwin, Linda Cusworth, Jim Wade, Victoria Allgar - Children and Youth Services Review, 03 May 2018

This study compared the histories, circumstances and pathways of children receiving quasi-compulsory home-based support (under a child protection plan) to those for children ever placed in out of home care.

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Key Findings on Families, Family Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals: Synthesis Report

Dominic Richardson - UNICEF, 01 May 2018

This synthesis report, ‘Families, Family Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Key Findings’ explores how the role of families, and family policies from around the world, can contribute to meeting the SDG targets.

Policies on bruises in premobile children: Why we need improved standards for policymaking

Andy Bilson - Child & Family Social Work, 24 Apr 2018

This review of the 91 English children's services departments with specific policies on bruising in premobile children found a major disjuncture between research evidence and its interpretation in guidance.

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Cumulative risk effect of household dysfunction for child maltreatment after intensive intervention of the child protection system in Japan: a longitudinal analysis

Hirotsuna Ohashi, Ichiro Wada, Yui Yamaoka, Ryoko Nakajima-Yamaguchi, Yasukazu Ogai and Nobuaki Morita - Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 20 Apr 2018

The authors of this study estimated the effect of household dysfunction (i.e., interparental violence, caregiver mental health problems, and caregiver substance abuse) on child maltreatment to understand how to advance the current framework of child welfare.

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Country Care Review: Oman

Better Care Network, 17 Apr 2018

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

Country Care Review: Slovenia

Better Care Network, 16 Apr 2018

This Country Care Review includes the care-related concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as other care-related concluding observations, ratification dates, and links to the Universal Periodic Review and Hague Intercountry Adoption Country Profile.

Serving clients and the community better: A mixed‐methods analysis of benefits experienced when organizations collaborate in child welfare

Marianna L. Colvin & Shari E. Miller - Child & Family Social Work, 16 Apr 2018

Data from extensive qualitative interviews (n = 67) and a survey instrument (n = 80) are used in this study to examine the perceived benefits experienced when organizations interact in community‐wide child welfare practice.

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