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Residential institutional care has long-term negative consequences for children’s physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Yet some parents are driven by economic, social and cultural pressures to place their children in institutions. In 2010, following national and international outcry over the poor conditions in children’s homes across the country, the Government of Bulgaria adopted the Vision for Deinstitutionalization of Children in Bulgaria. This five-year national strategy sought to end children’s institutionalization and move towards a more family-centric system of care.
To…
This research is based on a stock-taking of the current situation. It is based on a comprehensive literature review and a genuine primary research with service users as well as policy makers, service providers, children and families. The exercise aims to develop recommendations for the further development of the Bulgarian Child Protection System in its different components that provide child protection services, both in prevention and intervention.
Three themes are consistently pursued throughout the report, namely violence against children, children deprived of parental care and justice…
This research is based on a stock-taking of the current situation. It is based on a comprehensive literature review and a genuine primary research with service users as well as policy makers, service providers, children and families. The exercise aims to develop recommendations for the further development of the Bulgarian Child Protection System in its different components that provide child protection services, both in prevention and intervention.
Three themes are consistently pursued throughout the report, namely violence against children, children deprived of parental care and justice…
The Finding the Way Home documentary highlights the painful realities of the eight million children living in orphanages and other institutions around the world. The film draws on intimate access to families from Brazil, Bulgaria, Haiti, Nepal, India and Moldova to tell six stories of children who have found their way into the care of loving families after spending periods of their lives in an institution. The documentary was made with the support of ACER (Brazil), Catalysts for Social Action (CSA, India), Next Generation Nepal, Lumos and others who helped identify and support some…
Summary/Abstract: In Bulgaria, in recent years, the economy has accelerated its growth to nearly 4% per year, and welfare and living standards across the country are measured, measured by GDP per capita, wages and household incomes. However, the role of the state in social policy, as a regulator of social relations, still requires adequate measures aimed at the needy and families. The aim of the study is to highlight the basic social services provided to children and their families as well as the main reasons for abandonment of children and to propose measures to improve…
The context:
Numerous studies have highlighted that in Europe people with care experience are amongst the most socially excluded groups and are at greater risk of poor outcomes in education, health, employment, criminality, mental health and social functioning in general as compared to the wider population.
Leaving the formal alternative care system is an important phase for both young people and the service providers responsible for their care and development. All the efforts and investments made throughout the child’s alternative care path risk being rendered futile if the preparation…
The Opening Doors 2018 country factsheets provide an update about the progress with the transition from institutional to family- and community-based care (also known as deinstitutionalisation). The new generation of country snapshots covers 12 EU Member States, 2 EU pre-accession and 2 EU neighbouring countries. This factsheet highlights the developments and challenges still ahead in Bulgaria and offers key recommendations to the EU and the national government to ensure that children are cared for in family-based settings.
Abstract
In the 1990’s Bulgaria had one of the highest numbers of abandoned children with living parents among European member states. Our question of departure was how the European Union membership has changed the post-communist heritage of institutional care and we focus on the transformation of orphanages through the deinstitutionalization reform. Furthermore, this doctoral research compares the development of the Bulgarian deinstitutionalization reform to the British one, and offers an insight into the role of the European Union in the transformation of social policies of child…
An estimated eight million children still live in institutions across the world. Deinstitutionalisation involves strengthening and developing services to prevent children being separated from families. It involves closing down institutions; including children in society and in their communities; and giving them their right to a family. This film from Lumos is about the people who know that there is an alternative to institutional care, and who are working hard to make it happen. These are their stories, in their own words.
The video highlights work to transition institutions in…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Experiences of abuse and violence have devastating consequences for children, and in some cases, these consequences are lifelong. Loss of trust, feelings of rejection and abandonment, trauma, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and shattered self-esteem are just some of the impacts of ill-treatment on the wellbeing of children. Consequences are far-reaching, extending well into adulthood, and they include increased prevalence of mental health issues, a higher likelihood of experiencing violence from a wider range of perpetrators and high socio-economic impacts and costs. Further,…