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In early 2006 the Department of Women and Child Development became a full-fledged Ministry (the Ministry of Women and Child Development) and all child protection matters were transferred to this new Ministry, including implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000, and its Amendment Act, 2006. The same year the Ministry proposed the adoption of an Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), which was adopted and launched by the central government in 2009-2010. Recognizing chronic under funding of child protection services in the…
Child rights must be at the centre of all adoptions in Nepal, says this major study on adoption released in Kathmandu by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Terre des hommes (Tdh). The main conclusion of the 60-page report, ‘Adopting the rights of the child: a study on intercountry adoption and its influence on child protection in Nepal’, is that intercountry adoption should not be allowed to resume without appropriate safeguards being put in place at all levels. Only four out of every 100 children adopted in Nepal are adopted by a Nepali family and many children put…
Families are the natural environment for children to grow. Children have the right to be cared for by their parents; parents have a responsibility to provide for their children's upbringing and development. These concepts are not new to South Asia – children and families are a traditional cornerstone of all South Asian societies.
Yet there are millions of children in South Asia who no longer have families, who have become separated from their families, or whose families represent a serious danger to their health or development. For these children, States have the responsibility to…
Poverty, conflict, and other risk factors in Afghanistan contribute to a situation where many families are vulnerable to breakdown. There is a systemic lack of support, diversion, and alternative care services available for these families. Where parents are unable to provide for their children, residential care is the only recourse.
The Department of Orphanages is responsible for the administration of orphanages at the national level and is situated in the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled (MOLSAMD). MOLSAMD sources suggest that there are between six and eleven…
The United Nations Convention of the Right of the Child affirms that it is in the overriding interest of children that they be brought up in their own families. But there are growing numbers of children who do not enjoy this most basic right and suffer from neglect and extreme vulnerability. The emotional, educational, spiritual and physical needs of children who live without parental care are often neglected and they may resort to dangerous activities to survive.
For many decades children without parental care, were cared for in institutions or in foster-homes. Recent studies stress the…
The goal of New Beginnings is, “Children affected by armed conflict and violence in the family or community are protected from further harm and supported in gaining safe access to family and/or government support, as appropriate, and social inclusion in the wider community.” Its strategic objectives are:
1. To enable children affected by armed conflict (e.g., former child soldiers, separated or displaced children, children who lost opportunities due to armed conflict) to be resettled and/or reintegrated into their families, schools, and communities.
2. In selected project areas, to…
This report, requested by the Ministry of Child Development and Women Empowerment and Save the Children in Sri Lanka, is largely based on a literature review and a two week visit to Sri Lanka. Its task is to suggest strategies in place of institutionalisation for children in need of care and protection and for child offenders, through alternative care and diversion. This report is not about coming up with innovatory solutions but rather looking at practical strategies to achieve the above ends that are acceptable, achievable and affordable without requiring any major legal reforms.…
Children’s institutions have been in existence in Sri Lanka since 1900. Although the Sri Lankan government recognizes the dangers of institutional care and the need for alternatives, little has been done to address these issues. This presentation presents research on the policy environment, the quality of institutional care, and the alternative care options available to children in Sri Lanka. The research aimed to map children’s institutions in four Sri Lankan provinces; determine the current quality of services and identify good practice; assess and identify gaps in existing policies,…
This short article weaves the personal experience of adoption into an evaluation of the changing national attitudes and policies. Once considered unacceptable by Indian society, adoption is becoming an increasingly common option for Indian families. This shift is poised to benefit thousands of Indian children, moving them from group homes or institutions into family-based care.
Despite these advances, there remain many systematic barriers to the care of vulnerable children in India. Further work is needed to address the role and effects of international adoption, which removes children…
Principal findings of study revealed that institutionalization is becoming an option for families in difficult circumstances in the absence of alternative forms of care (for a summary of the key findings, click here). While government policies explicitly state that poverty should not be an admission criterion, 50% of children in voluntary institutions were there for poverty. Moreover, 80% of children in non-state institutions (generally termed “orphanages”) had at least one living parent…