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Executive Statement
The number of residential care institutions (RCIs) in Uganda increased during the past 20 years. As more institutions have been established, issues regarding the quality of care received by children have risen. RCIs are not only characterised as being overcrowded and unhygienic but have also been accused of failing to ensure their primary role of protecting vulnerable children. RCIs have also been characterised by sexual, physical, and verbal abuse from both caregivers and other children. This calls for regular supervision and monitoring of existing RCIs as well as…
This issue brief from the UNHCR highlights key messages from UNHCR in regards to alternative care, including the importance of making alternative care arrangements based on the best interests of the child and using residential or institutional care only as a very last resort. The brief defines the role of the UNHCR in alternative care as well as key concepts of alternative care. The brief reviews the types of alternative care and key actions that UNHCR and its partners can do to ensure the best interests of the child in alternative care. The brief concludes with some examples of the…
Over the last decade, research in basic human development has revealed that institutional care - particularly when used to serve children under five - is not an appropriate form of alternative care, and instead of protecting children can put them at further risk of harm. Efforts have been made to transition international thinking away from the use of orphanage-based systems and toward providing family-based care. With this in mind, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s (CCAI) The Way Forward Project brought together a group of…