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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Agamben and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in child protective services

Lorraine Waterhouse & Janice McGhee - Families, Relationships and Societies, 01 Mar 2016

This article draws on Giorgio Agamben's (1995) theory of 'bare life' to examine the identity and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in contemporary Western child protection systems to complement the primary focus on their children.

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Protecting Cambodia’s Children? The Role of Commune Committees for Women and Children and Informal Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms in Cambodia

M. Jordanwood - World Vision Cambodia, 01 Mar 2016

This study was aimed at filling a gap in information on Commune Committees for Women and Children (CCWCs) and their function. This study examines the successes of CCWCs in implementing and achieving policy goals, and the roles they play in linking children and families to child protection services.

Country Care Review: Brunei Darussalam

Better Care Network, 24 Feb 2016

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

Country Care Review: France

Better Care Network, 23 Feb 2016

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

‘I want to be better than you:’ lived experiences of intergenerational child maltreatment prevention among teenage mothers in and beyond foster care

Elizabeth M. Aparicio, 04 Feb 2016

The current study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore 18 in-depth, qualitative interviews from six participants on the meaning and experience of motherhood among teenage mothers in the United States in foster care in the and in the years immediately after ageing out.

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Policy transfer, social pedagogy and children's residential care in England

David Berridge - Child and Family Social Work, 01 Feb 2016

This paper builds on a recent evaluation of the piloting of the continental European model of social pedagogy (SP) in English residential care. It does three things: it considers the theoretical social policy literature on policy transfer and its implications; discusses European residential care for children and the discipline of SP; and reflects on these debates and the situation of children's residential care in England.

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Country Care Review: Maldives

Better Care Network, 29 Jan 2016

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

Lignes directrices nationales sur la prise en charge des enfants dans les familles d’accueil transitoire: Manuel à l’usage des acteurs de protection de l’enfance en RCA

Ministere des Affaires Sociales, de la Promotion du Genre et de L’Action Humanitaire - Republique Centrafricaine, et UNICEF, 02 Jan 2016

Le présent document propose la procédure d’identification, de sélection, de formation, de suivi et d’appui aux familles d’accueil temporaire dans la prise en charge des enfants non accompagnés, séparés, enfants associés aux groupes armés, orphelins et autres enfants vulnérables en Centrafrique, aussi bien sur les sites des déplacés que dans les communautés.

HOTĂRÎRE Nr. 7: cu privire la aprobarea Regulamentului-cadru privind organizarea şi funcţionarea Comisiei pentru protecţia copilului aflat în dificultate

Republic of Moldova, 2016

În temeiul prevederilor alineatului (1) al articolului 12 din Legea nr.140 din 14 iunie 2013 privind protecția specială a copiilor aflați în situație de risc și a copiilor separați de părinți (Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova, 2013, nr.167-

The State of the Ugandan Child: An Analytical Overview

Walakira, E.J., D. Muhangi, S. Munyuwiny, F. Matovu, E. Awich, I. Ddumba Nyanzi, J. Kayiwa, J. Akellot, P. Mubiri, J. Majugo, A. Mutebi, M. Ruiz-Rodriguez - USAID, 2016

The State of the Ugandan Child: An Analytical Overview focuses on four thematic areas, namely: health and nutrition, education, child protection and child participation; with emphasis placed on the girl child.