What do we know about alternative care, and what does it mean for trafficked children?

1. Alternative care and safe accommodation: what are we learning about alternative care for children generally and what does 'safe accommodation' for trafficked children look like?14th November 2012

2. What do we know about alternative care, and what does it mean for trafficked children? Emily Delap, Head of Policy, Family for EveryChild

3. What is alternative care? • The temporary care of children outside of parental care • Informal:private arrangement, children being looked after by friends, relatives or others, initiated by parents/ the child • Formal:care in a family environment which has been ordered by an ‘administrative body or judicial authority’, and all residential care • Includes: • Kinship care • Foster care • Residential care • Supervised independent living, • Other forms of family-based or family-like placements

4. What do we know about residential care? • Defined as: • “Care provided in any non family-based setting, such as places of safety for emergency care, transit centres…and all other short and long term residential care facilities including group homes” • Forms: • Large scale, dormitory style institutions • Small group homes • Children’s villages • Growing or failing to fall in many parts of the world.

5. What do we know about institutional care? • Children cannot form secure attachments and this impacts on: • Self-esteem, confidence, ability to form relationships • Physical development • Language • Intelligence • Vulnerability to child abuse • Spread of disease and immune systems • Isolation from wider communities/ lack of life skills – trouble reintegrating • Alternatives to large scale, dormitory style institutions must be sought.

6. What do we know about other forms of residential care? • Small group homes • A place for small group homes: • Some children need / want periods away from families. • Some children need intensive specialist support. • A stepping stone whilst larger facilities are shut down. • Many problems with the alternatives. • But: • Care must be high quality and community embedded • They are expensive, and require good systems of support and regulation • Children’s villages • Similar advantages/ disadvantages to small group homes • But – issues of isolation from wider communities

7. What do we know about foster care? • Definition • “Situations where children are placed by a competent authority for the purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family other than the child’s own family “ • Benefits • A better alternative to institutional care and generally cheaper than residential care. • A family-based choice for children for whom kinship care is not an option. • A highly flexible form of care. • A long term form of family-based care in cases where adoption is not possible or suitable. • Limits/ challenges • Child abuse risks and frequent placement breakdown/ change. • Must be high quality at all stages from recruitment of carers to follow-up. • High-start up costs.

8. What do we know about kinship care? • Definition: • “…family-based care within a child’s extended family or with close friends of the family known to the child, whether form or informal in nature.” • Most common form of alternative care, especially grandparent care. • Benefits: • Preferred by children and carers. • Offers children opportunities for permanency and attachment. • Better outcomes than alternatives and cheaper. • Recognised in global guidance. • Limits/ challenges: • Not suitable or available for all children. • Not all kin make good carers. • Currently, very poorly supported/ prioritised.

9. Decision making about children’s care • Best-interest • Case –by-case – care which is appropriate to the needs of each individual child • Working towards permanency and stability • Children’s participation • Regularly reviewed

10. A note on prevention, reintegration and adoption • Efforts must be made to prevent a loss of parental/ extended family care and to make sure that any placement in alternative care is necessary. • For children already in alternative care, efforts must be made to find them permanent family homes: • Reintegration – parents or kin • Adoption or kafala

11. Alternative care for trafficked children • Specific issues : • Particular support needs – trauma and sexual abuse. • Security. • Often older children. • Cross-border – inter-face with justice systems. • Possible complicity of family members / children’s agency. • These suggest that: • Institutions, including large scale transit centres, are far from ideal. • A place for specialist small group homes/ foster care? • A place for supervised independent living? • Careful decisions about reintegration.

12. Question and Answer Session