Child Care and Protection System Reforms

Social welfare sector reform is increasingly common, particularly in transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Increasing attention has been paid to the development of preventive community based child and family welfare programs that would, in coordination with health and education programs and social assistance, provide a range of support for vulnerable families.

Recognition of the damaging effects of institutional care on children and its high cost has influenced governments to redirect resources towards alternative family and community-based care practices such as kinship care, fostering, and adoption. Redirecting resources in the context of social welfare reforms requires a commitment from governments to provide adequate financing for effective policy implementation.

Funding availability raises a variety of issues regarding the level and type of support to be provided, the private or public management of services, and the entitlement process. Social welfare should protect the rights of children and their caretakers via fair and clear criteria of support provisions, with transparent procedures for the effective allocation of services.

Social welfare reforms to protect and support children and families need to be built on legal protections and child care policies which reflect the same child centred goals. Alternative forms of community based care, combined with social reintegration programmes and family support services, must be developed to reduce the use of institutions and enable children leaving institutions to rejoin their communities.

The resources in this section focus on country initiatives in reforming their social welfare sector to finance community based care developments.

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Foster Family Welfare in Poland: New Forms of Open Inclusive Care in Educational Aspect

Agnieszka Roguska, 2016

This article presents an overview of the Polish system of foster welfare, its regulations by law and directions for further transformation.

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The Process of De-institutionalisation and Development of Residential Care in Bulgaria

Mariela Todorova-Koleva - Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 2016

The article aims to show the process of deinstitutionalisation in Bulgaria.

HOTĂRÎRE Nr. 835: cu privire la aprobarea Planului de acţiuni pentru anii 2016-2020 privind implementarea Strategiei pentru protecţia copilului pe anii 2014-2020

Republic of Moldova, 2016

În temeiul prevederilor punctului 89 din Strategia pentru protecţia copilului pe anii 2014-2020, aprobată prin Hotărîrea Guvernului nr. 434 din 10 iunie 2014 (Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, 2014, nr. 160-166, art.

End Violence Against Children Now

Save the Children, 2016

This booklet is based on a recent internal desk review of Save the Children’s and partners’ work against physical and humiliating punishment of children, commissioned by Save the Children Sweden. It aims to present best practices, to show what methods have worked around the world, and to spread knowledge about results achieved and lessons learned when it comes to law reform and positive discipline.

The Children Act Amendment 2016: Key Objectives, the Journey, Key Amendments, Next Steps

Uganda's National Council for Children, Uganda Parliamentary Forum for Children (UPFC), and Private Sector Foundation Uganda, 2016

This bulletin highlights the key objectives and key amendments of Uganda's Children Act Amendment of 2016. It also outlines the process by which the Bill was developed and approved and lays out next steps for implementing the Act and ensuring the rights of children in Uganda.

El fin del silencio: La eliminación del cuidado de niños en instituciones

Hope and Homes for Children, 2016

Décadas de investigaciones comprueban que el crecimiento de un niño en una institución posee un impacto nocivo en cuanto a lo psicológico, lo emocional y lo físico, incluyendo trastornos de vinculación, retrasos cognitivos y en el desarrollo, y una falta de capacidades sociales y para la vida que luego concluyen en múltiples desventajas durante la adultez.

Kinnected: Keeping Children in Families

ACCI Relief, 2016

Kinnected is a program run in 10 countries by the organization ACCI Relief aimed at preserving and strengthening families and assisting children currently in residential care to achieve their right to be raised in a family. This report describes Kinnected’s programs and initiatives underway in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Lesotho and includes some individual case studies.

Children’s Rights in Poland and Russia in the Context of Janusz Korczak’s in heritage

Edyta Januszewska - International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 2016

The aim of this article is to study the situation on realizing children’s rights in Poland and in Russia in the context of Janusz Korczak’s principles.

Los Olvidados: Niños y Niñas en "Hogares": Macroinstituciones en América Latina y el Caribe

RELAF, 2016

Este documento pretende impulsar un cambio en el paradigma de la institucionalización como respuesta a la situación de los niños, niñas y adolescentes privados de cuidados familiares.

Child Protection: UNICEF Country Programme 2016-2018

UNICEF Cambodia, 2016

This brief from UNICEF Cambodia describes UNICEF's plans and programs regarding child protection.