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Children living in institutional care are more likely than their family-based peers to experience abuse, neglect, exploitation, lack of stimulation, poor nutrition and toxic stress.
Accurate figures on the number and characteristics of these vulnerable children in Ghana were lacking. A census of residential care facilities and an enumeration of the child population in these facilities were undertaken to address this gap, followed by a survey on a representative sample of such population. This was the most comprehensive data collection effort ever conducted on children in residential care.…
This report captures the findings of a mapping exercise commissioned by UNICEF Ghana and undertaken by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). This mapping exercise sought primarily to establish the number and profile of institutions at national and sub-national levels involved in child protection. The mapping report documents identifiable Government Institutions, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), Local Non-Governmental Organizations (LNGOs), Faith-Based and Community- Based Organizations engaged in child protection work from preventive,…
Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF)/USAID are supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and UNICEF Ghana to accelerate on-going childcare reform efforts through a 5 year programme, the DCOF/UNICEF/MoGCSP Accelerating Child Care Reform Programme 2015 – 2020. One of the activities is to conduct a comprehensive geographical mapping and analysis of Residential Homes for Children (RHCs) in Ghana to identify the “hot spots” - high concentration of RHCs and/or children in RHCs - and develop a comprehensive…
Abstract
The paper describes the findings of a geographical mapping and analysis of residential care facilities in four regions of Ghana. The mapping exercise study identified 24 residential facilities with 944 children, amounting to 22% of residential facilities and 27% of children in residential facilities in Ghana. Most of the residential facilities were privately run with their budgets funded by international donors. Seventy-five percent of the residential facilities were unlicensed because they did not meet the national standards for residential care facilities. Most of the children…
This report presents the key findings and recommendations from a comprehensive geographical mapping and analysis of Residential Homes for Children (RHCs) in Ghana. The mapping was intended to identify the “hot spots” - high concentration of RHCs and/or children in RHCs - and develop a comprehensive understanding of current trends, flows and drivers of children in RHCs in these “hot-spot” (priority) areas.
"The geographic mapping identified 115 RHCs in Ghana as at October 2016, caring for 3 586 children. Just over half of all RHCs (53 percent) were located in three Regions:…
Abstract
This article presents the results of a systematic mapping of social work training programs in countries throughout West Africa, a region historically under‐represented in global discussions of the social welfare workforce. The research illuminates how social workers and related professionals are trained to engage in social work practice in a number of West African countries. The research was conducted in two phases. In the initial phase, the research team collected documents from 12 West African countries and conducted phone interviews with relevant individuals. The second phase…
The aim of this report from SOS Children's Villages is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the needs and rights of young people ageing out of alternative care around the world, in order to inform strategies, policies and services to improve their life chances and outcomes through appropriate preparation for leaving care as well as after-care support. The specific objectives of the research were to highlight facts and figures (or in some cases, lack thereof) on the experiences and challenges of young people leaving care, including through their own voice and the testimony of experts…
This report documents the developmental journey taken by the Government of Sierra Leone (GSL) towards the protection, promotion and fulfilment of the rights of all of its children as protected by the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). It briefly covers the first generation of post-war measures aimed at addressing the immediate needs of its most vulnerable children affected by the war, after which it describes the progressive emergence of the universal child welfare and development framework that underpins the current Agenda for Prosperity. The report charts the…
This infographic was shared by the Country Core Team from Ghana who presented at a workshop in London in September 2017, facilitated by MEASURE Evaluation, funded and supported by DCOF/USAID and focused on moving forward alternative care reform in Ghana, Uganda, Armenia and Moldova.
The infographic provides a historical timeline of the alternative care reform process in Ghana, marking key achievements in the establishment of policies, guidelines, procedures,…
Abstract
In this chapter of Residential child and youth care in a developing world: Global perspectives, First Edition, the reader is introduced to the West African country of Ghana, formerly Gold Coast, where children constitute almost half the population of 25.9 million, of whom 12 percent are orphans. Europeans introduced residential care to Ghana and now there are three types of residential homes including homes for abandoned and orphaned children; shelters for trafficked and abused children; and correctional (borstal) centres for juvenile…