March - April 2015
 

In this edition of the newsletter, BCN highlights recent research, tools and policy briefs relevant 

to children's care.
IN A FEW WORDS
"The doctors tell me that my daughter is better off in this orphanage. They say that, because of her disability she does not even know I am her mother. I tried everything I could to keep her. But my husband left me, and I need to go back to work. I hope the doctors are right - and she does not remember that I am her mother."

 - English teacher, interviewed by DRI as she dropped her six-year old daughter off at the Bukovo Orphanage 
from "No Way Home: The Exploitation and Abuse of Children in Ukraine's Orphanages"
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BETTER CARE NETWORK 
STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

The Better Care Network convened a meeting of its Steering Committee members on 8-9 April in New York. Representatives from Save the Children UK, USAID Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), UNICEF, and PEPFAR, attended the two-day meeting along with representatives from BCN's newest Steering Committee members, RELAF and Family for Every Child and BCN's fiscal sponsor, Save the Children US. Steering Committee Member Firelight Foundation was not able to join. At the meeting, the BCN Secretariat provided an update on the implementation of its Strategic Plan 2014-2017 and discussed with members opportunities for strengthening collaborations and partnerships.
FOCUS ON DISABILITY
This edition's thematic focus highlights recent research, publications, and updates on the topic of children and disabilities, as it relates to the care of children.
No Way Home: The Exploitation and Abuse of Children in Ukraine's Orphanages
This report is a product of a three-year investigation by Disability Rights International (DRI) into the abuses experienced by children - both with and without disabilities - in large-scale institutions, psychiatric facilities, and boarding schools in Ukraine, of whom there are nearly 100,000, according to the report.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Review with Implications for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren with Disabilities
This review from the Baskent University Journal of Education synthesized the literature from 1990 to 2013, in the United States and internationally, regarding the subject of grandparents raising grandchildren, particularly grandchildren with disabilities.

Permanence for Disabled Children and Young People through Foster Care and Adoption: A Selective Review of International Literature
This review of literature, published in the Children and Youth Services Review, covers international material related to stability and permanence for disabled children, in particular permanence achieved through fostering and adoption.

Deaf and Disabled Children Talking About Child Protection
This report summarises the findings of original research commissioned by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK carried out by the University of Edinburgh/NSPCC Child Protection Research Centre to address a significant gap in current understandings of deaf and disabled children and young people's experiences of the child protection system. It includes children's experiences in alternative care or with alternative carers.

Prevalence and Comorbidity of Mental Disorders Among Adolescents Living in Residential Youth Care
The aim of this study, published in the journal of European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry was to assess the prevalence and comorbidity of mental disorders applying diagnostic interviews in an entire population of adolescents living in residential youth care (RYC) in Norway.

Mental Illness and Parenthood: Being a Parent in Secure Psychiatric Care
This qualitative study sought to understand the experiences of parents in England who are separated from their children due to placement in a secure psychiatric center. The study included participants whose children had been placed into foster or kinship care or family adoption.
NEW RESEARCH AND UPDATES

Policies and Standards
Guidelines for the Alternative Family Care of Children in Kenya
These guidelines, adopted by the Government of the Republic of Kenya, are aimed at regulating Guardianship and Foster Care of children in Kenya. The guidelines were developed in partnership with UNICEF through inclusive stakeholder participation from relevant Government departments, faith-based organizations and civil society, as well as through field visits throughout the country.

Reintegration Guidelines for Trafficked and Displaced Children Living in Institutions
This document provides guidelines to reintegrating trafficked and displaced children in Nepal, based on the approach and methodology developed and utilized by Next Generation Nepal (NGN) and The Himalayan Innovative Society (THIS).

The Place of Foster Care in the Continuum of Care Choices: A Review of the Evidence for Policymakers
This report from Family for Every Child explores concerns about the expansion of foster care services in low and middle income countries, it begins to fill the gap in understanding, and aims to assist in both states' and NGOs' decisions on whether to invest in foster care, and in the kinds of supportive services needed to make foster care safe and effective.

Beyond CPS: Developing an Effective System for Helping Children in "Neglectful" Families
In this article, published in the Child Abuse and Neglect journal, the author Michael Wald addresses the topic of child neglect, or allegations thereof, as it relates to children and families in the Child Welfare System in the United States. The author notes that most reports to child protection services in the United States are related to neglect which, in turn, is closely related to poverty. This article offers an exploration of these issues and proposes a different approach to Child Protection.

Inter-Country Adoption of Children Born in the United States

This article from "Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics," provides an overview of inter-country adoption of children from the United States to other countries.
 

At What Age Do Young People Become Adults?

In this brief article from the journal of Criminal Justice Matters, the authors make their case for extending the age limit for young people to receive care in the foster care system, focusing on the UK and the US.


Strengthen African Families - The 'SAFe' Campaign: A Call for Change 

This Call for Change from the 'SAFe' Campaign in Uganda provides an overview of the situation of orphaned and vulnerable children in Uganda, highlights key concerns related to this situation, and outlines ways forward for strengthening families.
 

Out of Care, into University: Raising Higher Education Access and Achievement of Care Leavers

This report, published by the Access and Achievement Research Unit, La Trobe University, aims to provide the basis for an agenda to improve university attendance among care leavers in Australia by highlighting the nature and extent of the problem, and suggesting practical solutions within both the education and community service sectors. 

 


Learning from Practice
Strategies for Delivering Safe and Effective Foster Care: A Review of the Evidence for Those Designing and Delivering Foster Care Programmes
This report from Family for Every Child begins to fill the gap in understanding on how to deliver effective, safe foster care programmes through an exploration of the literature and interviews with experts.

Family and Parenting Support: Policy and Provision in a Global Context
This report from Innocenti UNICEF Office of Research examines and analyses policies and provision for family support and parenting support based on general literature searches and evidence gathered from 33 UNICEF national offices and detailed case studies of nine countries: Belarus, Chile, China, Croatia, England, Jamaica, the Philippines, South Africa and Sweden. The research also drew on an expert consultation in which Better Care Network participated.

Prevent and Protect: Linking the HIV and Child Protection Responses to Keep Children Safe, Happy, and Resilient
This report from UNICEF and World Vision International documents country level approaches in Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe that respond to HIV and child protection challenges facing children and adolescents by linking both those responses.

Family Preservation in Udaipur, Rajasthan India: Rapid Assessment of 366 Palanhar Yojana Families
In January and February of 2015, in order to create an evidence-based foundation on which to design community-oriented family preservation services, Foster Care India conducted a rapid assessment survey of 366 Palanhar Yojana beneficiary families in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Child Welfare in Chile: Learning from International Experiences to Improve Family Interventions

This paper, published in the Social Services journal offers strategic guidelines to improve alternative care for children younger than six years of age, who are under protective measures.

 

Exploring Care and Protection Offered to OVCs in Care Institutions with Examples from South Africa and Botswana

This study published in the Journal of Social Sciences has, through an immense literature review analysis explored: the role of OVC care institutions; policy environment of care and protection of OVCs; care of OVCs in institutional care in both South Africa and Botswana; and the experiences of OVCs in care institutions.

 

Are European Structural and Investment Funds Opening Doors for Europe's Institutionalised Children in the 2014-2020 programming period?

This report, reviewed by  by EuroChild and Hope and Homes for Children, is based on the outcomes of a survey addressed to eight National Coordinators of the Opening Doors campaign. It aims to assess the extent to which EU Member States have used ESIF to catalyse child care systems reform.

 


Understanding the Situation
Orphans and Ebola: Estimating the Secondary Impact of a Public Health Crisis
This paper from the World Bank combines data on the age distribution of current and projected mortality from Ebola with the fertility distribution of adults in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, to estimate the likely impact of the epidemic on the number of orphans in these three countries. 

Re-Thinking and Reconceptualizing Child Care Institutionalisation in South Africa: Effects and Impacts on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs)
This study, published in the Journal of Social Science, through an extensive review of literature has explored and reconceptualised institutional care and considered the dynamics of institutionalization. The study also examines the effects and impacts of institutionalization on OVCs in South Africa, such as educational attainment, socialization and psychosocial impacts.

Effect of Maternal Deprivation on Child Development
This study, published in the International Journal of Bioassays, compares the development of children living in orphanages with that of children living with their biological parents in slums in Odisha, India.

The Experience of Receiving and Delivering Consultation in a Residential Childcare Setting for Looked-after and Accommodated Children: A Sequential Exploratory Design
The aim of this study, published in the Child Care in Practice journal, was to explore the experience of consultation in three residential childcare settings in the UK. 

The First Peoples Child and Family Review: Special Issue on Custom Adoptions
The First Peoples Child & Family Review has published a Special Edition on Custom Adoptions in partnership with the Siem Smun'eem Indigenous Child Wellbeing Research Network at the University of Victoria, Canada. This edition contains research articles, agency experiences, cultural perspectives and personal stories that highlight custom adoption in Canada from a historical and contemporary perspective.

NEW INITIATIVE

Tracking Progress Initiative: Monitoring the Guidelines' Implementation

The February-March 2015 double edition of the ISS Monthly Review includes an article by Florence Martin, director of the Better Care Network, which provides a brief overview of the Tracking Progress project and potential implications for users of the tracking tool. 

 

NEW BOOK


The Intercountry Adoption Debate: Dialogues Across Disciplines
This edited volume introduces the complexity of intercountry adoption and gives voice to the many sides of the intercountry adoption debate - for, against, and the ranges in between. 

BETTER VOLUNTEERING, BETTER CARE INITIATIVE

The "Better Volunteering, Better Care" Initiative was created in response to a growing concern from child protection specialists and other stakeholders about the negative impact of volunteerism within alternative care settings in developing countries. 

Better Volunteering, Better Care consultant, Anna McKeon, has recently given an interview for Sharing4Good. Click here to read Part I and Part II of the interview.

IN THE MEDIA

AUSTRALIA: Australian Couple Abandon Surrogate-Born Son in India
The Australian Women's Weekly, 13 April 2015

GHANA: Child Abuse in the Name of Voluntourism
ZAM, 10 April 2015

CANADA: Manitoba CFS Increasingly Used Hotels to House Vulnerable Children, Documents Show
CTV News, 8 April 2015

AUSTRALIA: Foster Care, Support Programs for Young People Should Extend until Age of 21, Anglicare Says
ABC - Radio Australia, 28 March 2015

USA: Foster-Care Plan for Tribes Filled with Problems
Tucson.com - Arizona Daily Star, 21 March 2015

NEPAL: 16 Children Rescued from Capital-Based Orphanage
eKantipur.com, 19 March 2015

RWANDA: Rwanda Outgrows its Genocide Orphanages
BBC News, 12 March 2015

GHANA: 12 Children Return to 'Closed Down' Countryside Orphanage
CitiFMonline, 12 March 2015

ITALY: Hundreds of Unaccompanied Children Land on Italy's Shores
Vatican Radio, 9 March 2015

UK & LATVIA: Latvia Complains to UK Parliament Over Forced Adoptions
The Guardian, 9 March 2015

GLOBAL: The Business of Orphanages: Where Do "Orphans" Come From?
The Conversation, 9 March 2015

KAZAKHSTAN: $1.5 Million Database for Orphans and Potential Parents: Dealing with Corruption in Orphanages
Tengrinews English, 8 March 2015

INDIA: Parliamentary Panel Rejects Plan for Inter-Country Adoption of Orphans
The Times of India, 8 March 2015

UAE: Adopting Orphans and Breaking Taboos in Dubai
AlJazeera, 6 March 2015

CYPRUS: Private Adoption Methods Still Raise Arguments
Cyprus Mail, 6 March 2015

ITALY: In Pictures: Child Migrants on Lampedusa
BBC News, 5 March 2015

CAMBODIA: Cambodia to Resume Foreign Adoption
Xinhua News Agency - Global Post, 3 March 2015
VIDEOS
Children Grow Best in Families 
Wendy McMahan, Faith to Action Initiative

Don't Create More Orphans
Child Safe Network Campaign
EVENTS
RIATT-ESA Webinar on Prevalence & Predictors of Child Abuse
21 April, 2015, online

The Abu Dhabi Seventh International Conference for Persons with Disabilities
21-23 April, 2015, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Sexual Violence Research Initiative's (SVRI) 4th International Conference
2-4 September, 2015, South Africa
Abstracts due 30 April 2015

Christian Alliance for Orphans' Summit
30 April - 1 May, 2015, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

IFCO 2015 18th Biennial Conference: "Tell Someone Who Cares: Caring for Our Children"
8-11 November, 2015, Sydney, Australia
JOB POSTINGS & CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITIES

 

Roadmap for Mid-Level Cadre Workforce Development Under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS): The objective of this consultancy is to develop a Roadmap for development of the mid-level cadres' workforce in India.

 

Family for Every Child is recruiting for the following positions:

Request for Proposals (RFP) for Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) Program: The purpose of this announcement is to invite organizations to submit proposals to World Learning in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Mid-term Performance Evaluations of Two Child Care Reform Projects in Cambodia funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF). Submission deadline is 6 May 2015.

Call for Papers: Global Social Welfare: Research, Policy, and PracticeSpecial Issue on Measuring Better Care: Building the Evidence for Supporting Appropriate Care for Children
Coming out of a symposium on The State of the Evidence on Children's Care hosted by the Better Care Network and the CPC Learning Network, this special issue will highlight the work of a number of leading academics, policy makers, and practitioners involved in the development or implementation of key initiatives to better measure issues of children's care at country, regional or international levels. Submission deadline is 15 June 2015.
General Information
Newsletter participants, currently 3,687 in total, work 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, request a newsletter subscription, or reach out in any other way to the Network, please send the information to us at contact@bettercarenetwork.org or visit our website at www.bettercarenetwork.org. You can also follow us on Twitter @BetterCareNet. Thank you!