| BCN Newsletter: 19 November 2012 |
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To the Better Care Network,
Welcome to the latest edition of the BCN Newsletter!
In this edition, you'll find the latest research and resources on alternative care and related programming and policy guidance. In particular, this newsletter includes conference reports, country program examples, and updated resources on the following issues:
- Foster care model in Bulgaria
- Intercountry adoption in Africa
- Prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment in alternative care
- A ministerial conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, on preventing the placement of children below three years in residential care
- Protection Working Group call for example for results-based approach to protection and more!
All the best,
The BCN Secretariat
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NEW RESOURCES:
Expansion in Foster Care Model in Bulgaria Project
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The last three years mark a new stage in foster care provision in Bulgaria with a comprehensive program that included a national public awareness campaign, establishment of specialized foster care services, and capacity building of the statutory child protection bodies. The heart of this program was a joint service providers project between the government of Bulgaria and UNICEF, which was implemented over a span of two and a half years in 9 out of 28 regions in Bulgaria. As a result of the project, more than 330 foster families were established and 350 children were placed in foster care. Due to increased public awareness and improved system capacity, the numbers of foster parents in the country rose to 1,022 at the end of 2011 and a total of 855 children were placed in foster care.
To read the summary report on the expansion of foster care model Project in Bulgaria:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=29855&themeID=1002&topicID=1013
To read the report on the documentary reality TV series, "Life as it is-foster families," showcasing alternative family care:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=29856&themeID=1002&topicID=1013
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NEW RESOURCES:
The Intercountry Adoption Alternative and Controversies:
The Fifth International Policy Conference on the African Child
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The Fifth International Policy Conference on the African Child was held 29-30 May 2012 at the United Nations Conference Center Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference brought together about 500 participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and countries around the world. The overall goal of the Fifth IPC was to further the discussion on intercountry adoption and to contribute to the improvement of national laws, policies, systems and procedures relating to intercountry adoption. Discussions surrounded the topics of:
- African government ratifying the requisite international legal instruments governing intercountry adoption
- Making support and resources more available for countries of origin that wish to ratify the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
- Raising awareness as to what adoption entails and that intercountry adoption should be a measure of last resort
The African Child Policy Forum produced the following documents as outputs of the conference:
The following two publications were prepared as background documents to inform the discussions and debates during the conference, and were distributed to participants at the conference:
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UPDATED RESOURCE:
Prohibiting and Eliminating Corporal Punishment in
All Alternative Care and Day Care Settings | |
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has reprinted its report on prohibiting and eliminating all corporal punishment in alternative care and day care. The report, originally published earlier this year and now reprinted with updated information on the legality of corporal punishment around the world, is designed to raise awareness about children's right to protection, support the use of human rights mechanisms in campaigning for law reform and provide guidance on the drafting and implementation of legislation which prohibits all corporal punishment.
At least 123 states worldwide have no prohibition of corporal punishment in any form of alternative care or day care. This leaves millions of children, including some of society's most vulnerable, subject to violent and humiliating punishment by those whose role it is to take care of them.
To read and download the most updated version of the document, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=27900&themeID=1004&topicID=1029
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CONFERENCE:
A Ministerial Conference on 21-22 November 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria | |
The Government of Bulgaria with the support of UNICEF is organizing a ministerial conference on preventing the placement of children below three years in residential care to be held in Bulgaria on 21 and 22 November 2012. This conference is placed under the patronage of Rosen Plevneliev, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria. This high-level consultation is part of the follow up to the UNICEF/OHCHR campaign to "End placing children under three years in institutions" launched in the European Parliament in June 2011. The conference will aim at reinforcing political commitment to the issue in order to accelerate reforms at country level, strengthen inter-sectoral linkages to ensure that children are not separated from their families and identify knowledge gaps to be addressed.
To learn more about the conference, please visit: http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/media_20824.html
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CONSULTANCY AND JOB POSTINGS
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Consultant, Better Care Network Technical Support and Knowledge Management
The Better Care Network (BCN) is seeking the assistance of a consultant, from December 2012 through April 2013, for the provision of technical support and knowledge management. The consultant will provide technical assistance to practitioners, policymakers, academics, and other childcare professionals by identifying resources related to prevention of family separation and alternative care for children. He or she will also serve as the lead for BCN's knowledge management platforms including the network's newsletter. In addition, the consultant will be responsible for the development and dissemination of selected BCN technical and advocacy resources.
Please contact Nurys Bustamante at nbustamante@care.org by November 23rd 2012 for the terms of reference and further information on the application process.
Consultant(s), Better Care Network Three-Year Strategic Plan and Organizational Recommendations
The Better Care Network (BCN) is also seeking the assistance of a consultant or a team of consultants, with extensive experience in strategic planning, organizational, network development and child protection and alternative care, to work in close collaboration with the network to develop a three-year strategic plan and recommendations regarding appropriate organizational options to best support the implementation of the strategic plan. The purpose of the strategic planning and organizational review is to facilitate, through a consultative process, the development of BCN's three-year strategic plan; review possible organizational structures and make recommendations on the suitability of different options that will best support the implementation of BCN's three-year strategic plan.
Please contact Nurys Bustamante at nbustamante@care.org by November 23rd 2012 for the terms of reference and further information on the application process.
Program Director, Minnesota Council on Foundations
The Minnesota Council on Foundations is looking for a Program Director who will lead the international, children and families initiatives and programs of the GHR Foundation. He or she will research fields of board interest, work with the board Chair to develop strategic priorities, solicit proposals that address those priorities, research and recommend funding strategies to meet the board's administrative and governance goals. The ideal candidate for the position is a professional with a minimum of ten to fifteen years of relevant experience in issues of child protection and welfare and the importance of family. An undergraduate degree is required with a graduate degree preferred in a related field.
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and current resume to Lars Leafblad, Principal, KeyStone Search, via larsl@keystonesearch.com by November 30, 2012.
For more information about the job post, please visit: http://www.mcf.org/jobs/781
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CALL FOR EXAMPLES:
InterAction's Protection Working Group Call for Example for Results-Based Approaches to Protection | |
InterAction's Protection Working Group is launching a program to develop and promote good practice for results-based approaches to protection. InterAction is issuing a Call for Examples that demonstrate a results-based approach to protection. This may include logframes, assessment, diagnostic and analytical models, mapping tools, guidebooks, handouts, advocacy strategies, reports, reviews supporting designing and developing protection programming. Examples will be sorted and analyzed in an effort to identify trends, key elements and gaps within results-based approaches to protection. They will be used to explore questions surrounding results-based approaches to protection and help frame discussion and further analysis in a Practitioner's Roundtable at the beginning of 2013.
Please contact Jessica Lenz at jlenz@interaction.org to request more information and submit all examples to the same email address by November 23, 2012.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
| | The newsletter participants, currently 3,119 in total, are working on issues related to the care and support of vulnerable children across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The purpose of the newsletter is to enable members to exchange information on matters of mutual concern. If you would like to share a document, raise a specific issue, or reach out in any other way to the Network, please send the information to us at contact@bettercarenetwork.org. In the interest of keeping messages consolidated, we will manage announcements on the newsletter and send out a few messages each month.
We would like to involve as many people as possible who are concerned with better care issues in the Network. Please advise anyone who would like to be added to the newsletter to send us a message at contact@bettercarenetwork.org with "newsletter request" in the subject line. Alternatively, visit the homepage of the Better Care Network website at bettercarenetwork.org, and click on the upper right box where it says "click here to sign up for our email announcements."
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