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Accurate data on the extent to which residential homes for children in Ghana are in compliance with national standards for quality of care and case management are lacking. To begin to address this gap, a census of residential homes and an enumeration of the child population were undertaken in 2019, followed by a survey on a representative sample of children living in such homes. Data were gathered on the types and characteristics of all 139 residential homes operating in the country at the time and the demographic profiles and well-being of children living in such facilities.
The purpose…
These Standards for Foster Care are available to all stakeholders engaged in the protection, care and support of children where foster care provision may be required. These Standards are intended to guide social workers and other service providers in monitoring foster care services. The primary aim of these Standards is to ensure that the best interests of the child are sought when a child is placed in foster care. These Standards will lay the foundation for ensuring that foster care is a viable alternative care solution for children in need of care and protection.
These Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) describe guiding principles, procedures, roles and responsibilities in the prevention of and response to child protection for children residing within Ghana. The SOPs build on national and Ghana based practices, protocols and legal frameworks as well as international minimum standards. They are designed to be used together with existing resources related to prevention and response to child protection. This Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is intended as a guide for social workers in handling cases of children in need of care and protection. This…
Introduction
Foster care provides a family-based setting for children whose biological family is unable or unwilling to care for them. Foster care is the least restrictive formal alternative care option for children in need of care, providing a family life for children who cannot live with their own parents. As with all alternative care arrangements, the goal of foster care is reunification; returning the child to their home as soon as the problems that caused them to come into foster care have been resolved and it is clear that their parents are able to look after them safely. However, in…
Introduction
Infants are precious and vulnerable; therefore, they need a lot of love, attention and quality time with caregivers. Parents have known this instinctively for centuries and research continues to confirm that “a human infant cannot survive without someone providing food, protection and affection. Because of this, human babies are born with a very strong instinct and need to bond with a caregiver”. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important for brain development especially within the first three years when the brain…
Introduction
National Standards for Residential Homes for Children (RHCs) in Ghana are in place to ensure the quality and consistency of care of children in residential care in line with international and domestic legal frameworks. The Standards are intended to guide all those responsible for planning and providing residential care services, and for making decisions on the licensing or closure of RHCs. DSW is legally mandated to inspect and monitor RHCs to ensure compliance with the Standards.
These Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the inspection and monitoring of RHCs in Ghana…
The revised Standards outlined in this document are aimed at strengthening the first National Standards for Residential Homes for Children (RHC) in Ghana, developed in 2010. The Standards set out guidance on the admission of children into RHC and reintegration of children with their families. Among the updates made to these Standards are "provisions on the use of volunteers in RHC as a safeguard against orphanage 'volunteerism' which has been shown to not only impact negatively on children’s well-being but also actively encouraging the proliferation of residential homes…
In 2013 The Better Care Network and Save the Children UK began an inter-agency initiative to review and share existing knowledge on international volunteerism as related to the alternative care of children in developing countries. This initiative brings together key actors from across the child protection, education, corporate, faith-based and tourism sectors to share their respective experiences and identify global communication and engagement strategies to address the issue.
The purpose of this study was not to conduct formal academic research on the topic of volunteering in…
The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in Ghana manages the activities of Residential Homes for Children (RHCs) to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana are protected and cared for when they are placed in institutions. In recent years, the number of orphanages in Ghana has increased, as have reports of abuse, molestation, and neglect in these residential homes and many orphanages in the country are alleged to be operating below the basic standards set by the DSW.
This study, therefore, was conducted to determine whether the regulation of the operations of RHCs under the DSW…
Following Ghana’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1990, the country also initiated steps towards law reforms as an attempt to affirm its moral and legal obligation towards the survival, development and protection of Ghanaian children. National laws were harmonized with the UNCRC beginning with the 1992 Constitution which saw the inclusion of Article 28. This article guarantees the rights and freedom for children. It is also similar in terms as the principles of the UNCRC, and was followed by the passage of the progressive Children’s Act,…