Emergency Care Arrangements

The priority for unaccompanied children in an emergency is to reunite them with their parents, family members, or relatives as quickly as possible, in order to provide them with care and protection. Where this is not immediately possible, children will require emergency care until reunification is possible via documentation and tracing activities.

Emergency care should cater to the child’s basic shelter, security, food and health needs, on a level that is comparable to the local community in order to avoid encouraging further family separations. Children should be kept fully informed of efforts to locate family, and any interim care plans. All agencies offering care must follow and international standards, and coordinate with the local authority.

The preferred care will usually be with temporary caretakers from the community, rather than in institutions, since this provides continuity and greater protection. Children associated with armed forces may require interim care, if immediate family reunification is not possible and in their best interests. Spontaneous care situations, such as kinship, foster care, and child headed households should be screened, monitored and supported to ensure children are protected and their basic needs and rights are being met. In some cases an alternative placement may be necessary. Where family members cannot be located, a longer term care plan should be formulated, however adoption must only be considered after all tracing and reunification activities have been exhausted over a substantial period of time.

Support programs should include all affected children, and should not target or isolate separated children. They should strengthen the community’s natural coping methods and support structures, and will therefore include community and child participation in decision making processes. All placements must be fully documented to facilitate tracing and reunification activities. Reunification should be the immediate goal for all children, unless this is not in their best interests.

The documents in this section relate to emergency care guidelines and examples from around the world.

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Core Commitments for Children in Emergencies

UNICEF, 2004

Outlines UNICEF’s initial and follow-up responses in protecting and caring for women and children.

Implementing the Collaborative Response to Situations of Internal Displacement: Guidance for UN Humanitarian/Resident Coordinators and Country Teams

2004

A document with guidelines and the framework for a comprehensive and accurate response to the problem of displaced persons.

Improving Protection for Children Without Parental Care - Kinship Care: An Issue for International Standards

UNICEF and International Social Service, 2004

A paper outlining the use of formal and informal kinship care, child headed households and cross border kinship care. It discusses the advantages and limitations of each, including welfare costs, and argues for international standard setting.

Reaching Out to Africa's Orphans: A Framework for Public Action

Kalanidhi Subbarao and Diane Coury, 2004

A detailed book providing evidence-based guidelines for approaches and interventions to best mitigate the various risks confronted by OVC.

Improving Protection for Children without Parental Care: A Call for International Standards

UNICEF and International Social Service, 2004

Outlines problems and issues in providing appropriate out-of-home care solutions. Advocates for development of more comprehensive international standards for out-of-home care.

Separated Children: Care & Protection of Children in Emergencies: A Field Guide

Amy Hepburn, Jan Williamson, & Tanya Wolfram, 2004

This paper outlines some of the key issues facing separated children, which include physical, protective, psychosocial and guardianship needs. It describes program interventions to prevent separation, to trace and reunify families, to plan interim and long-term care arrangements for separated children.

Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Inter-agency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children , 2004

Provides guidance on role of humanitarian agencies in ensuring protection and appropriate care provision for separated and unaccompanied childre, with a particular emphasis on preserving family unity and ensuring identification, tracing and reunification is pursued.

Interagency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children

International Committee of the Red Cross, 2004

Core interagency resource on the principles of practice with separated and unaccompanied children. Includes prevention of separation, evacuation procedures, and tracing, reunification, and care arrangements.

Protection of Persons with Specific Needs. Chapter 11 from Camp Management Tool Kit

Norwegian Refugee Council/ The Camp Management Project , 31 Dec 2003

A guide for camp management agencies that provides instruction on the care and protection of all children (under 18), as well as those with specific needs, such as unaccompanied and separated children, child heads of households, children formerly associated with armed forces, and out-of-school and unemployed adolescents and youth.

The Care and Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Disasters

David K Tolfree, 2003

Overview of a research study which provides guidelines for care of separated children in large-scale emergencies, focusing on the negative impact of residential care, extended family care, spontaneous and agency fostering, adoption, and alternative placements for adolescents.