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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Serbia’s Experience in the Social Inclusion of Children with Disability

Nenad Ivanisevic, State Secretary , 10 Sep 2014

On 10 September 2014, UNICEF and the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria co-hosted a high level Lunchtime Discussion on the right of children below three years to live in a caring and supportive family environment: examples from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Serbia focused its presentation on the support provided to families of children with disabilities and the importance of investing in family-support services at municipal level.

The Right of Children to Live in a Caring and Supportive Family Environment: Examples from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

UNICEF & The Permanent Mission of Bulgaria, 09 Sep 2014

On 10 September 2014, UNICEF and the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria co-hosted a high level Lunchtime Discussion on The right of children below three years to live in a caring and supportive family environment: examples from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Phase I Study Report: Social Cohesion and Community Based Protection Mechanisms in Chad and Burundi

The North South Institute, 01 Sep 2014

This research explores links between child protection and peacebuilding. It includes a section examining community child protection mechanisms in Burundi.

Stability and Change in Institutional Alternative Care for Children in Israel and Japan

Michael Maher King, University of Oxford, 25 Aug 2014

This Masters thesis paper, by Michael Maher King of the University of Oxford, reviews the situations of children in institutional alternative care in Israel and Japan.

Meeting Report of the Regional Learning and Consultation Meeting: Strengthening Child Care Systems

Better Care Network, 19 Aug 2014

This report provides an overview of a two-day regional consultancy on strengthening child care systems in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Meeting Report of the Regional Learning and Consultation Meeting: Strengthening Child Care Systems

Better Care Network, 19 Aug 2014

Following a consultative mapping, a regional learning meeting took place on 19-20 August 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of this meeting was "Reflection on past, current and future efforts aimed at strengthening child care systems in East and Southern Africa."

Shaping the national social protection strategy in Cambodia: Global influence and national ownership

Huck-ju Kwon, Sarah Cook, Yusun Kim - Global Social Policy, 14 Aug 2014

This article analyses the interactions among global and national actors in the policy dynamics of Cambodia’s National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS); it is intended to disentangle the complex politics of global social policy at the national level.

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Roadmap for the Implementation of the Guidelines on Kinship Care, Foster Care and Supported Independent Living in Liberia

Government of Liberia, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare - USAID, World Learning, Save the Children, Maestral International, 01 Aug 2014

This “roadmap” document outlines the recommended implementation strategies and activities for strengthening family- and community-based alternative care in Liberia. It accompanies the Guidelines on Kinship Care, Foster Care and Supported Independent Living (the Guidelines) and the Capacity Building Plan to Implement the Guidelines (CBP).

Department of Social Welfare Capacity Building Plan to Implement The Guidelines for Children Without Appropriate Care: Rapid Context Assessment – Final Report

Maestral International - USAID, 22 Jul 2014

This Context Assessment, produced by Maestral International, aims to collect and review all relevant information to support the development of the Department of Social Welfare’s (DSW) institutional capacities to execute the new framework for alternative care in Liberia.

Children Without Appropriate Care Desk Review Summary Report: Liberia

Maestral International - N. Beth Bradford, Manolo Cabran, Ghazal Keshavarzian, Edith Gongloe-Weh, Sián Long, 09 Jul 2014

This report provides an overview of Liberia’s alternative care context, identifies key stakeholders who are involved in the child protection field in the country, and summarizes the Child Care Legal and Policy Framework related to alternative care.