Formal care and adoption of children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This report is about children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia who are deprived of parental care. Despite recent reforms, which have led to an increase in the number of children being placed in alternative families – for example with foster parents, guardians or adoptive parents – the majority of these children are still living in institutions. They live in a child care system which relies heavily on costly residential care and which also undermines their development potential. The report provides an in-depth review and analysis of the latest statistics provided by national statistical offices on children in formal care in these countries. It highlights relevant trends on key issues such as family separation, the placement of children in institutional care and concerns about the abandoning or handing over of small babies to state authorities. Finally, it looks at the heavy reliance on institutions to care for children with disabilities – many people are still under the misapprehension that an institution is the best place for a disabled child. The findings of this report show that there has been impressive progress over the past ten years in the reform of the child care systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They have adjusted their legislation to bring themselves into line with international conventions and other human rights treaties and diversified services for families and children: all countries are introducing family-based alternatives to residential care and several of them are experimenting with transforming old residential care services. These countries have made important changes in the way the services are targeted to families and children. They are developing standards, accreditation and licensing for new services and developing new gatekeeping practices that better control the criteria by which children are placed in institutions. Innovative practices have been introduced on financing and budgeting for child care services. These redirect resources from old residential care institutions to family and child support services, and family-based care. However, these countries have also faced problems implementing plans and new legislation. This is mainly because national plans do not systematically define quantitative targets and fail to fully consider, enforce, or adequately monitor some qualitative issues. Governments must renew their efforts and enlist the support of regional and international partners in particular areas. Based on the findings of this report, UNICEF renews its call for a shift towards preventing children from being separated from their family environment in the first place. Although family-based approaches have gained ground, this report demonstrates that preventative work must be intensified. It also shows us that residential care must be much better managed, so that when staying in an institution really is necessary, it is an exceptional, temporary solution in a system that is properly geared towards family reintegration or longer term and stable family-based resolution. The aim is to give every child a proper home and a sense of belonging, identity and origin. This can be achieved not only by using cash assistance for the most vulnerable families, but also by developing family support services, which provide improved access to health services and education. The success of governments in leading such complex reforms will depend on their capacity to coordinate different actors, both private and public, national and international, and also central, regional and municipal level authorities. It will also rely on their ability to identify and find funds to cover the transitional costs for these reforms.

 

Attachment Size
English -1.15 MB 1.15 MB
At Home or in a Home? At Home or in a Home?
Publication type
Total pages
90
Countries this relates to
Language of materials
Projects and thematic pages

Childhub

You might like..

0
15
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In every country in Eastern Europe and Central Asia the juvenile justice systems need to be reformed, if not created. This fact is confirmed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which notes in its ‘Concluding Observations’…
0
Eastern Europe and Central Asia continue to see rapid increases in HIV infections among men, women and children. Despite some notable successes in responding to the epidemic, it is unlikely that the Universal Access targets and the Millennium…
0
3
A recent UNICEF report The Social Monitor: Social Protection for Child Rights and Wellbeing in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia calls for an enhanced investment in more effective social protection which can have…
0
12
The overall objective of the study includes the promotion of the universal recognition of children’s rights, through the documentation of actions undertaken in the context of CRC implementation. The study assesses how the CRC implementation process…
0
7
In 2001, at the Budapest preparatory conference, the Council of Europe was entrusted to lead the follow-up for Europe regarding the commitments made in Budapest and Yokohama. We have done this by evaluating the measures taken by States to implement…
0
8
Violence against children can best be portrayed as a pyramid, with all but its tip buried in the deep sands of adult ignorance, self-deception and apathy. The tip represents the tiny proportion of violence which comes to official notice. The…
0
5
In response to the lack of information and in the interests of promoting education justice for Roma, the Open Society Institute presents here the best available data on Roma education in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe. Collating…
0
71
British children and child refugees ask and answer questions about the refugee crisis. The Guardian and Observer charity appeal 2016 is supporting the work of three charities working with refugee children. This year more than 90,000 children have…
0
58
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the largest mass disruption of education in history and worsened the global learning crisis. In April 2020, more than 190 countries set national school closures, putting up to 1.6 billion students at risk of falling…
0
8
The EEB report examines environmental racism referring to the effects on the Roma community in Central and South-East Europe. The 1st section clarifies concepts such as environmental justice, antigypsyism and its correlation to environmental racism…
0
14
The TRM Guidelines, divided in five Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) sections, were jointly developed and validated by the project participants from SEE. Each national implementation team was comprised of representatives from the anti-…
0
92
Pandemics, like COVID-19, intensify inequalities for women and girls, particularly for those already in a vulnerable situation such as older persons; migrants, displaced person and refugees; persons with disabilities; LGBTI persons; survivors of…
0
10
This report, based on recent research carried out by Save the Children, Terre des Hommes, Plan International, UNICEF , the African Movement of Working Children and Youth (MAEJT), the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and…
0
This is a summary of learning from case reviews that were published between 2016 and 2023, where the main issue was how to return a child home from care. While for children the best is to grow up in their own family, and thus family reunification is…
0
2
The purpose of this reference guide is to set up a framework for comprehensive antitrafficking legislation. It aims at assisting law and policy makers mainly in the Stability Pact region, but also in other participating States of the OSCE, in their…