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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The vulnerable child in neoliberal contexts: the construction of children in the Aotearoa New Zealand child protection reforms

Emily Keddell - Childhood, 2017

This paper discusses recent policy reforms have substantially changed state responses to child abuse in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ).

“Letting Kids Be Kids”: Youth Voice and Activism to Reform Foster Care and Promote “Normalcy”

Bernard P. Perlmutter - Studies in Law, Politics, and Society , 2017

This article examines the stories that foster care youth tell to legislatures, courts, policymakers, and the public to influence policy decisions.

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Action Plan for improving child care with the target of safely returning 30 per cent of children in residential care to their families 2016-2018

Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation - Kingdom of Cambodia, 2017

This Action Plan for improving child care, with the target of safely returning 30 per cent of children in residential care to their families 2016 - 2018, was developed to support the implementation of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) Work Platform 2014–2018 and the Sub-Decree 119 on the Management of Residential Care Institutions, which was endorsed on 11 September 2015.

“Letting Kids Be Kids”: Youth Voice and Activism to Reform Foster Care and Promote “Normalcy”

Bernard P. Perlmutter - Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, 2017

This chapter examines stories that foster care youth tell to legislatures, courts, policymakers, and the public to influence policy decisions in the US.

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Advocating for Social Services for the Benefit of All Children and Their Families

Opening Doors, 2017

This report from Opening Doors discusses the Opening Doors II pan-European campaign launched in Chisinau.

A World that Cares: How to Support Children without Parental Care through the Sustainable Development Goals

Gillian Huebner - SOS Children's Villages , 2017

This briefing describes how the needs of children without parental care can be addressed through five of the SDGs: no poverty (1); quality education (4); decent work and economic growth (8); reduced inequalities (10); and peace, justice and strong institutions (16).

Tackling Child Neglect in Scotland :Follow-up survey 2016

Jane Scott and Brigid Daniel, Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection, University of Stirling, 2017

A 2016 survey was commissioned by the Scottish Government to inform the Child Protection Improvement Programme and the Neglect Improvement Pilot. This report presents the findings and analysis from the survey, including achievements and challenges in providing child protection services.

Action Plan for improving child care with the target of safely returning 30 per cent of children in residential care to their families 2016-2018 (Khmer)

Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation - Kingdom of Cambodia, 2017

Transforming Missouri's Child Welfare System

National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, 2017

This video from the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute explains how the state of Missouri in the US reformed its child welfare system by strengthening the social service workforce.

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Desinternar, sí. Pero ¿cómo?: Controversias para comprender y transformar las propuestas institucionales de protección a la infancia y la adolescencia

Diego Silva Balerio and Pablo Dominguez Collette - UNICEF, 2017

La publicación que se presenta pretende ser un aporte en desarrollando herramientas, metodologías de trabajo, y estrategias para desinternar a niños en distintos momentos vitales. A partir de la experiencia de trabajo y la reflexión sobre su propia práctica, La Barca ordena, sistematiza y pone a disposición de todos los actores del sistema de protección a la infancia los principales aprendizajes de la tarea realizada en los últimos años.