Dear Colleagues,

I am glad to share with you  a White Paper on Small scale residential care prepared by UNICEF regional office of Europe and Central Asia. Would be grateful if you share it further among your networks and colleagues.

Best regards,

Keti

Dear colleagues,

I hope this email finds you all healthy and faring well.

Thank you for your time, energy and contributions to the attached White Paper, which is now final – it has been an important process; and in many ways the process has been as important as the outcome. I’d like to recognize, in particular, the work of Stela Grigoras, who worked tirelessly on drafts and facilitated much of the interaction and collaboration that has led us here.

Please do share this document widely with and within your networks.

The paper was led from the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Office for a simple reason - this region continues to have the highest official rate of children in institutional care in the world. Political will to reform these systems continue to grow, as does the practice of transitioning and ultimately closing large institutions. However, children with disabilities are over-represented in many of the remaining large institutions. Efforts to support the return of children with disabilities to families through the establishment of home based support and care, and to ensure specialized, supported foster care have often fallen short, with children simply trans-institutionalized from a larger to a smaller institution. It is also true that small residential care, clearly defined and well organized within a broader child protection and family support system can play a role in protecting children and even supporting families. Some children who have experienced extreme forms of violence feel less comfortable in a traditional family setting and may themselves choose small residential care over foster care. Older adolescents who are transitioning to independence can benefit from supported independent living in small groups. But residential care is a slippery slope, surrounded by unanswered questions about purpose, size, scope, and proportion vis-à-vis other child protection services.

The White Paper’s development and finalization took two years, with multiple consultations and drafts discussed. It reflects an evidence and rights-based approach; and it represents a consensus of global child rights, child protection and disability experts on a sensitive and important topic.  The arrival of COVID-19, and the subsequent economic fall-out is pushing many more families and children into poverty and cutting them off from essential social services. Government budgets will contract over the coming years. Social services and child protection services, already operating on narrow budgets, will likely be cut further. Old instincts to address increased child vulnerability with residential care will surely be felt. It is in this real-world context that this White Paper’s findings and recommendations must be reflected on and implemented.

Thank you again.

Aaron

Aaron Greenberg

Regional Advisor, Child Protection

Phone: +41 22 909 54 21

Cell: +41 (0) 79 744 78 98

Email: agreenberg@unicef.org

Skype: aarongreenberg1

United Nations Children’s Fund

Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

Avenue de la Paix 5-7, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland