Community Based Care Mechanisms

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care for Children highlight the importance of providing children with care within family-type settings in their own communities. This allows girls and boys to maintain ties with natural support networks such as relatives, friends and neighbours, and minimizes disruption to their education, cultural and social life. Keeping children within their communities (ideally as close as possible to their original homes), also allows girls and boys to stay in touch with their families, and facilitates potential reintegration.

Examples from around the world demonstrate that there are many ways children without adequate family care can be supported within their own communities. This includes both formal and informal arrangements such as foster care, kinship care, domestic adoption/Kafala, guardianship, supervised independent living, child-headed households and small group homes.

These practices can be supported through a range of formal measures including social protection schemes (e.g. child sensitive cash transfers), family strengthening services, community based rehabilitation services for children with disabilities, respite care, training for caregivers, and policies that support families in alternative care-taking roles. Increasing access to free education and health services, and establishing social assistance programmes to reduce poverty, can also help the poorest caregivers to support children within the community.

In the absence of well-developed care and child protection systems in many countries, community based mechanisms can also play a key role supporting children and caretakers in alternative care situations. Child protection Committees, faith based organizations, civil society groups, volunteer associations and other community based groups can provide financial or practical support through schemes that help to fund children’s education or health costs, link them to support services or social assistance schemes, and provide mentorship and family counseling. Home visits and caretaker support groups can also play a valuable role, while awareness raising efforts to promote children’s rights (particularly if supported by community and religious leaders), can help to reduce discrimination against girls and boys in alternative care arrangements – particularly those with disabilities or from minority groups.

As long as they are not over-burdened or given responsibilities beyond their competence, community-based groups can provide vital support to children in alternative care situations. Often however, they are hampered by weak organizational procedures, limited technical capacity and poor coordination. Continued efforts by governments, NGOs and international agencies are needed to promote their institutional development and to enhance their ability to support children.

The literature in this section describes a range of care arrangements that enable children to receive adequate care within their own communities, and community support initiatives that help to sustain them.

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Final Evaluation of “Reintegration of Street Children and Community-Based Child Protection in SNNPR, Ethiopia”

Retrak, 24 Nov 2016

This document is an evaluation of Retrak’s reintegration of street children and community-based child protection project in SNNPR, Ethiopia.

Combatting dependency and promoting child protection in Rwanda

Saeed Rahman, Simran Chaudhri, Lindsay Stark and Mark Canaver -- Forced Migration Review, 01 Oct 2016

According to this article from Forced Migration Review, when the majority of aid comes from external sources, it can cause those who receive the aid to feel powerless.

Ethiopia Child Protection Factsheet

UNHCR, 01 Oct 2016

In this Ethiopia Child Protection Fact Sheet, UNHCR provides the main child protection highlights, issues, and trends for 2014 to 2016.

Care and Protection of Children in the West African Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic: Lessons learned for future public health emergencies

UNICEF, 01 Oct 2016

This report examines three Ebola-affected countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea – to analyse the degree to which the response was successful in addressing the scale and unique nature of the child protection situation that arose due to the epidemic.

Outreach Work: Child Sexual Exploitation - A Rapid Evidence Assessment

Silvie Bovarnick, Di McNeish and Jenny Pearce , 01 Sep 2016

This briefing is based on a rapid review of the available literature on outreach work with children and young people. It is intended to provide the ReachOut project with an overview of different approaches to outreach; what it generally aims to achieve; what distinguishes it from centre-based work and how it is applicable to children and young people involved in, or at risk of, child sexual exploitation.

Strong Beginnings – A Family for All Children: End-of-Project Evaluation Report

Eddy J. Walakira, Ismael Ddumba-Nyanzi, Luwangula Ronald - Terres des Hommes Netherlands and Makerere University, 01 Sep 2016

Strong Beginnings (SB) was an 18-month project purposed to promote an alternative care model that places emphasis on family based care of children, improving the quality of care within child care institutions, build capacities of government and non-government agencies in implementing alternative care; generate evidence and promote learning.

Navigating support, resilience, and care: Exploring the impact of informal social networks on the rehabilitation and care of young female survivors of sexual violence in northern Uganda

Stark, Lindsay; Landis, Debbie; Thomson, Blake; Potts, Alina Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol 22(3), 01 Aug 2016

This study examines the experiences of young female survivors of sexual violence in northern Uganda in order to explore the variety of roles (both positive and negative) that informal support networks played in contributing to survivors’ healing, recovery, and reintegration.

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Alcohol management plans in Indigenous communities in Queensland (Australia) may have unintended implications for the care of children

Katrina Bird, Michelle S. Fitts and Alan R. Clough - Health & Justice, 18 Jul 2016

This paper discusses a large evaluation study that attempts to describe the impacts of the alcohol control laws enacted in various indigenous communities. Participants were interviewed and asked to give their thoughts on how the laws have affected them medically, economically and socially.

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The Evidence Base on the Social Service Workforce: Current Knowledge, Gaps and Future Research Direction - BUILDING EVIDENCE INTEREST GROUP REPORT

Jini L. Roby, JD, MSW, MS - Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, 01 Jul 2016

The purpose of this report is to review the current conditions of the global social workforce. This study is meant to identify critical gaps in order prioritize current workforce strengthening research.

The Role of Community Care Coalition for Child Protection in Assosa City

Abebe Senbeta - Addis Ababa University - The School of Social Work, 01 Jun 2016

This study investigates the effects of Community Care Coalitions on child protection in Assosa City, Ethiopia. It explores services and strategies employed by Community Care Coalitions to address child protection, as well as challenges faced by Community Care Coalitions while attempting to provide these services.

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