|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In this edition of the newsletter, BCN highlights recent research, tools and policy briefs relevant
to children's care.
|
|
|
"I always thought I would start an orphanage; but today I believe very strongly that children don't need a house, they need a family. They don't need an institution, they need a home."
- George Ebeneezer, CEO of Beyond Barriers, from A World Without Orphans
|
|
FOCUS ON CHILDREN IN RESIDENTIAL CARE
|
|
This edition's thematic focus highlights recent research, publications, and updates on the topic of children in institutions or residential care.
|
This report from Disability Rights International (DRI) outlines the findings from a two-year investigation into the treatment of children and adults with mental disabilities in Mexico City, particularly those in the care of state-funded and private residential facilities.
This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of institutionalization on young children's development from the perspective of global child welfare practice and policy.
This interpretive study examines the experiences of 54 Ethiopian emerging adults who had aged out of institutional care facilities.
This booklet was developed by Mamelani Projects, a community development organisation in South Africa. The booklet serves as an easy to use tool and guide for practitioners and programme developers alike. It outlines Mamelani's approach to Youth Development and providing transitional support to young people as they transition out of Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs).
This paper from Hope and Homes for Children and the Roots Research Centre, in collaboration with EuroChild, presents a policy position which argues that, "as the Greek authorities map out the road to long-term recovery, several key steps to reform the child protection and care system should be taken as a matter of priority," including the elimination of institutional care for children, prevention of institutionalisation, and provision of support to young people leaving the child protection system.
Using structural equation modeling the present study analyzed the associations between quality of sibling relationship and self-concept of institutionalized adolescents in Portugal, testing the mediating role of resilience in this association, and the moderating effect of the maintenance of contact between siblings.
The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of violence among orphaned children in institutions in Egypt and its consequences on their physical and psychological health status.
This paper describes the diversified approaches in Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia to end the placement of children under three in institutions and prevent the separation of children from their families.
|
|
Understanding the Situation
|
|
This first annual report from the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, published on June 10, 2015, sheds light on the social service workforce, an important group of people who help to ensure that effective prevention and support services reach those who need it most.
This study aimed to examine the living arrangement of children (both orphan & non-orphan) based on a nationally representative Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2006 and 2011.
This article, based on research in progress, discusses possible dangers of child abandonment and neglect, using attachment theory as its theoretical grounding. It considers findings based on two samples (professionals and adoptive mothers) and offers recommendations for the prevention of child abandonment and the protection of abandoned children, with specific reference to Lesotho.
|
Family Support and Alternative Care Expert Meeting in the Baltic Sea Region 2015
Government representatives, experts and professionals from the Baltic Sea Region including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden and wider Europe gathered at a two-day expert meeting in Tallinn, Estonia on 5-6 May 2015 to discuss alternative care and family support. Together, the participants endorsed a set of recommendations and action plan. For more information, read the background paper and regional report.
Child Protection Index Georgia 2015: Measuring the Fulfillment of a Child's Rights
The Child Protection Index (the Index) is a comparative policy tool, organised and implemented by local and national level civil society organisations, that examines a country's current child protection system using a common set of 626 indicators that measure a country's policy and actions toward greater child protection. This Index measures Georgia's efforts toward child protection in comparison with other countries in the region.
Child Protection Index Moldova 2015: Measuring the Fulfillment of a Child's Rights
The Child Protection Index (the Index) is a comparative policy tool, organised and implemented by local and national level civil society organisations, that examines a country's current child protection system using a common set of 626 indicators that measure a country's policy and actions toward greater child protection. This Index measures Moldova's efforts toward child protection in comparison with other countries in the region.
The Children Amendment Bill No. 2 - Uganda
In 2015, the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda considered the Children Amendment Bill, which has several implications for children's care in the country. The object of the bill is to amend the Children Act Cap. 59, enhance protection of a child, provide for the guardianship of children, provide for inter country adoption, prohibit corporal punishment, and provide for related matters.
|
Household Economic Strengthening in Support of Prevention of Family-Child Separation and Children's Reintegration in Family Care
This paper presents an overview of learning related to the prevention of family-child separation, the reintegration of children into family care, and economic interventions that support both. The paper seeks to contribute to the evidence base related to the ways in which household-level economic strengthening interventions in low- and middle-income countries can help prevent the separation of children from their families and assist in reintegrating separated children into family care.
This study, conducted in eastern Zimbabwe, addresses the gap in current understanding about the extent to which household-based cash transfers differentially impact individual children's outcomes, according to risk or protective factors such as orphan status and household assets.
From Foster Care to Adulthood: Success Stories
This qualitative study, conducted as part of a Doctoral dissertation, used intensive interviews to explore the trajectory of a small number of youth who have transitioned out of foster care in the US, outlining the social, economic and psychological barriers they faced while also charting the attitudes, behaviors and experiences that allowed them to successfully exit the foster care system and move toward productive adult lives.
|
|
BETTER VOLUNTEERING, BETTER CARE INITIATIVE:
UPDATES & RESOURCES
|
Globalsl.org, a network of universities and nongovernmental organizations advancing ethical global civic engagement and cooperative development partnerships, released a 3.5 minute video highlighting the evidence on international volunteering and service-learning.
German and Swiss NGOs Tourism Watch, ECPAT, and fairunterwegs.org have published a report
on voluntourism, which focuses heavily on the need for adequate child protection measures. The report will be followed by a
workshop on voluntourism in German-Speaking Europe in October 2015 in Berlin. Volunteer organisations or NGOs interested in participating in this event (that will take place entirely in German language) should email [email protected].There were also ensuing discussions at the ITB Trade show in Berlin this spring (video of a panel discussion, partly in English, can be viewed here).
Friends International recently re-launched their ChildSafe website. The site has specific advice and information for how to protect children during travel, working, and volunteering abroad and at home. This follows the release of their powerful video "Don't Create More Orphans" earlier this year.
International Association of Infant Massage Position Paper on Volunteering in Orphanages
In July, the International Association of Infant Massage in Australia launched a position paper on volunteering in orphanages in order to address the problem of untrained individuals being encouraged to conduct child care and infant massage practice in residential care centres. The release of this position paper was quickly followed by a position paper on the same topic from the Association of Massage Therapists in Australia.
Beyond Orphanages: Family and Community-Based Orphan Care Webinar
In August 2015, Child Family Health International (CFHI) held a webinar reviewing the situation of children living in residential care facilities around the world. The webinar presenters included John Williamson, Senior Technical Advisor for USAID Displaced Children and Orphans Fund and co-chair of Better Care Network, and Anna McKeon, facilitator of the Better Volunteering, Better Care Initiative.
|
|
In this issue, we highlight the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at its 69th Session held from 18 May- 5 June 2015, with a particular focus on sections addressing children's care.
Click below to read the Country Care Reviews for the following countries:
|
|
The Conversation, 13 August 2015
Uncornered Market, 11 August 2015
The Hindu, 2 August 2015
ABC News, 30 July 2015
Thomas Reuters Foundation, 30 July 2015
Business Standard, 27 July 2015
News Vision, 23 July 2015
Open Democracy, 21 July 2015
Faith to Action Initiative, 20 July 2015
Opening Doors for Europe's Children, 9 July 2015
CANADA: Adoption series: Open adoptions tricky but rewarding
Vancouver Sun, 9 July 2015
USA: Suit to Accuse New York City and State of Keeping Children in Foster Care Too Long
New York Times, 7 July 2015
CAMBODIA: Cambodia faces uphill struggle to reform its orphanages
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 6 July 2015
NEPAL: Stop The Orphanage Business: Ramesh Danekhu
The Rising Nepal, 1 July 2015
BANGLADESH: National Convention for Reducing the Impact of Unsafe Migration on Children
The Daily Star, 30 June 2015
USA: How a Group of Female Inmates Won the Right to Live with Their Children VICE, 25 June 2015 |
|
|
Psychosocial Support (PSS) Forum 2015: Love, Care and Protection from Infancy to Adolescence
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 1-3 September 2015
ISCI 2015: 5th Conference of the International Society for Child Indicators "From Welfare to Well-being: Child Indicators in Research, Policy and Practice"
University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2 - 4 September 2015
Family Troubles Symposium: Care and Change in Diverse Contexts
University of Reading, UK, 16 September 2015
14th ISPCAN European Regional Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
Bucharest, Romania, 27-30 September 2015
Penn State's Fourth Annual Conference on Child Protection and Well-Being: New Frontiers in the Biology of Stress, Maltreatment and Trauma
State College, PA, USA, 30 September - 1 October 2015
IFCO 2015 18th Biennial Conference: "Tell Someone Who Cares: Caring for Our Children"
Sydney, Australia, 8-11 November
ISPCAN International Conference on Children and Armed Conflict: Call for Abstracts
Nairobi, Kenya, 7-10 February 2015
|
|
JOB POSTINGS & CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITIES
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
