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Scaling Down
Scaling Down looks at residential care options across the world with the aim of promoting better decision-making among policy-makers and child welfare practitioners around its use. We call for an end to the unregulated and unplanned growth of residential care in many parts of the world, prioritising ending the use of residential care for children under three, and residential care in large-scale facilities. We argue for improvements in the quality of any residential care that continues to be used, and outline strategies for reducing reliance on residential care.
> Download the report here
> To download a version of the report for children and young people, click here
Comments
by Gwen Burchell 256 days ago
A good initiative. Are there any plans to launch worldwide advocacy strategies on this issue, subsequent to the papers being published? I'm sure that most people in governments know that institutions are not good for children but it is not considered a priority issue for many reasons. Is there some way the international child protection community can realistically address this problem together?
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by Randolph Oudemans 256 days ago
Hello, It will take an army of social workers and high-level commitment from government and community leaders to achieve transforming and lasting change with respect to residential care. The NGO I work with, REACT (www.REACT-REACT.org) is working with the Indonesian government and other NGO's to participate in and catalyze this transformation. We run an annual conference and many training workshops to this end. If there is something we can do together, so that children and youth benefit, let's make it happen. With regards,Randolph Oudemans President, REACT www.react-react.org
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by Dashenka 255 days ago
Thank you very much for this impressive document. Is it possible to put this on the FICE-Inter website? I think that is very important to share this results and conclusions with how much as possible people. www.fice-bulgaria.org
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by Klára Trubačová 255 days ago
I am really happy that such a material exists and I would like to use it as a an important support document to our D-I activities. Klára Trubačová, Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí
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by Grace Mwangi 255 days ago
To address to the issues of children effectively, I feel there is need to be proactive in dealing with the root causes that causes and use our resources to create peaceful habitations in our homes, communities and countries Recently in our work in Kenya we reintegrated children who have been on the streets back to their communities. We met this community that has many single mothers, and their children were vulnerable and it is likely children would continue to leave their homes Therefore, we have visited that community once per month to have give the single mothers time, put value into the mothers, in return they can put value in their children. Our motto is Every Child needs a family and our Vision is Every child in Africa restored into a transformed family impacting their community, generation and beyond. Kenya Children of Hope
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by Niels Peter Rygaard 255 days ago
Some years ago I visited a number of countries to lecture for universities, foster family managers and orphanage leaders. This made it clear to me that there are three important issues in residential quality care development: the type of placement, the attitudes towards child care in those in care of children, and the educational level of caregivers. In my experience the lack of education for caregivers is a major challenge in almost any type of placement. I managed to start a European Commission grant, and from 2008 - 2010 foster family managers and orphanage leaders were involved in educating staffs from a research based design, in child stimulation, attachment based care and organization enhancing long term relations between children and care givers. There were two outcomes: a set af recommendations, and a free-of-charge 15 session internet education for foster families and staffs, available in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and Greek. The education is available at www.fairstart.net/training
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by Nigel Cantwell 255 days ago
I appreciate the approach taken in “Scaling Down” for three main reasons in particular. 1. While firmly grounded in international standards, it relays a pragmatic message about securing their implementation worldwide. 2. Scaling Down” recognises the role that residential care (as opposed to institutions) will and should necessarily continue to play – for positive reasons – so it avoids the all-too-frequent demonisation of any care setting that is not family-based. 3. Scaling Down” realistically seeks to tackle “the worst first”: long-term placements in unconscionably impersonal “facilities”, especially from any early age. Working for human rights – obviously including those of children – of necessity requires both the prioritisation of protection problems to be tackled as well as the promotion of preventive measures that need to be taken on board: a kind of top-down and bottom-up approach combined. Essentially, “Scaling Down” complies with this requirement. That said, we need to give far more attention to “money” than the few paragraphs accorded to this question in “Scaling Down”. Which entities are responsible for financing what kinds of care? Are they different? Are they local or national? Are they public or private? Are they domestic or foreign? How can we imagine the move to a non-institution-based alternative care system, and an effective gate-keeping function, unless the potential “conflicts of interest” – including financial interest – and resource imbalances inherent in so many systems in place at the present time are recognised and addressed?
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by Emily Delap EveryChild's Global Policy Advisor 238 days ago
Thank you for your comments Gwen. We agree that a major problem is that children's protection and care are not prioritised by governments. We are working to try and get this issue higher up the agenda, and agree that collaboration is the way forward to create a stronger united voice for change. Towards this ends, last year we worked in collaboration with 8 other INGOs to raise the importance of care and protection to achieving the MDGs (see: http://www.everychild.org.uk/resources/policy_and_research/MDG). We are also currently in the process of establishing a coalition of national NGOs who can advocate jointly on children care at the global level. Emily Delap, EveryChild's Global Policy Advisor.
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by Gwen Burchell 236 days ago
Emily, I would be keen to get involved in any global advocacy efforts. We're having some real success in Azerbaijan as a result of strong advocacy activities and it would be good to share this experience. Gwen Burchell, United Aid for Azerbaijan
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by Emily Delap, EveryChild's Global Policy Advisor 236 days ago
Hi Gwen, great to hear that you have been having success, if you want to share any information or post links in these comments that would be great. We will certainly keep you updated on our advocacy efforts.
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