A first draft of the guidelines was developed by the NGO working group on children without parental care, based in Geneva, at the request of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF and International Social Service have been closely involved in the drafting process. The Better Care Network's advisory group reviewed and commented on the guidelines. Young people have also been included in the consultations, providing valuable insight into matters that affect them.
In May, 2006, the draft guidelines were submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee reviewed and strengthened the guidelines in preparation for informal technical review by UN member states.
In August, 2006 the Brazilian government hosted an inter-governmental meeting of technical experts to further refine and strengthen the guidelines. The two-day meeting, held in Brasilia, drew over 40 governments representing all the regions of the world. The meeting was extremely positive. Amongst other developments, a 15-country review board was established at the meeting to facilitate further revisions.
The international guidelines seek to ensure that, on the one hand, children do not find themselves in out-of-home care unnecessarily and, on the other, out-of-home care provided is of a type and quality that corresponds to the rights and specific needs of the child concerned. They are designed to promote, facilitate and guide the progressive implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in this particular area of concern. The non-binding Guidelines, ultimately for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, address not only governments but also international bodies and organisations, civil society, professionals, voluntary organisations and the private sector to the extent that they are directly or indirectly involved with organising, providing or monitoring out-of-home care for children.