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"When we build strong relationships with families, families trust us, and when they trust us they will reveal what the underlying risks and vulnerabilities are. At the same time, they will also reveal what their strengths are."
- Sophorn Ngath, Prevention and Strengthening Manager for Cambodian Children's Trust, from
Strengthening Families and Preventing Separation
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Under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY), Cambodia has made significant progress with care reforms. Since the release of the Action Plan for Improving Child Care in 2016, efforts have focused on developing the mechanisms and service systems to prevent new admissions into residential care and to facilitate the safe reintegration of children back into families. These efforts have been supported by UNICEF and a coalition of organizations, including
Family Care First/ REACT
.
Several of these organizations and stakeholders in Cambodia have also produced key resources which are featured in this issue, including an evaluation of UNICEF's child protection program; a study from Family Care First documenting existing reintegration and alternative family care services; a capacity development plan for family support, foster care, and adoption; and more.
As part of these efforts, Better Care Network is pleased to launch the Cambodian Practitioner Learning Video Series. Comprised of 12 videos and accompanying discussion guides, the series features the learning from practitioners working across a range of care-related programs and practices. Topics discussed include abandonment prevention in hospitals, supporting children with disabilities in family-based care, and the impact of the care setting on child rehabilitation outcomes. These videos are part of a global Practitioner Learning video series that began in Uganda (view series
here
) and is now underway in Kenya. The videos highlight innovative and promising practices in children’s care and are accompanied by discussion guides to support learning and prompt consideration of how to utilize and adapt these practices to different local contexts.
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The Focus Section brings together research and other documentation published over the past year or two on a particular theme, country, or region. Its aim is to draw attention to the growing body of knowledge developing on the issue and help busy practitioners keep abreast of learning and changes.
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Practice-Based Video Series
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In this two-part video, Sorn Sokchea discusses the medical social work program, run by Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia, that aims to prevent and respond to child abandonment with the goal of strengthening families to provide adequate care for their children.
In part one, Sokchea shares insights from the social work unit’s key learning around what leads to abandonment, how to work with families to identify and solve underlying issues, how to engage and communicate with families and how to identify risk indicators for abandonment.
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In this two-part video, Sorn Sokchea discusses the medical social work program, run by Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia, that aims to prevent and respond to child abandonment with the goal of strengthening families to provide adequate care for their children.
In part two, Sokchea shares insights on how to conduct family tracing in the event abandonment has already occurred, including identifying leads and key sources of information.
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In this video, Leang Lo, from Save the Children Cambodia, shares some of his learning that informed the development of the Social Work Supervision Training Program for the member organisations of Family Care First (a network dedicated to supporting children to live in safe and nurturing family-based care).
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Towards addressing the challenge of ensuring community-based social and family support services are available, accessible and relevant to families at high risk of separation, particularly those located in remote rural areas, Cambodian Children’s Trust piloted a Holistic Family Preservation Program in rural Cambodia. In this video, you’ll hear from Sophorn Ngath as he shares some of the key learning from their pilot phase.
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In this two-part video series, Nou Dalin, part of the social work team with Cambodia Children's Trust (CCT), discusses her experience of working in partnership with the Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (DoSVY) to implement the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) Action Plan on Improving Childcare in Battambang Province in Cambodia.
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In this two-part video series, Nou Dalin, part of the social work team with Cambodia Children's Trust (CCT), discusses her experience of working in partnership with the Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (DoSVY) to implement the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) Action Plan on Improving Childcare in Battambang Province in Cambodia.
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In this video, Keo Ravy and Chhoun Leak,
Children in Families social workers,
share their experience of using a cluster model to enhance the social support available to foster carers whilst reducing the demands placed on organisational resources.
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In this video, Sreyna and Chenda, two practitioners from Hagar Cambodia, discuss their learning regarding the impact of the care setting on child rehabilitation.
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In this two-part video, practitioners Sorn Sreyny and Lisa Yunker of
Children in Families' ABLE project
share their experience of making family-based care in Cambodia inclusive for children with disabilities. In part one, Sreyny and Lisa discuss their key learning with respect to supporting caregivers to care for children, including the importance of managing stress and expectations, developing trusting relationships and taking a whole family approach to support.
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In this two-part video, practitioners Sorn Sreyny and Lisa Yunker of Children in Families' ABLE project
share their experience of making family-based care in Cambodia inclusive for children with disabilities. In part two they speak to their experience and learning around recruiting foster families to care for children with disabilities, including the types of families to target and how to use role-modeling to address issues of stigma in the community.
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In this video, Dy Noeut and Kim Malin of New Smile Organisation (NSO) discuss their experience of conducting family tracing as a part of reintegration efforts in the context of an unregistered orphanage where children’s files contained missing and inaccurate information.
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The objective of this evaluation was to provide evidence that can help strengthen performance and accountability with UNICEF’s work with the Royal Government of
Cambodia
and the myriad other authorities and organizations involved in child protection. This evaluation explores the effectiveness of UNICEF Cambodia's reintegration and prevention programming, including efforts to reintegrate children from institutional care and into family-based care.
Read Volume 2 here
.
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This study from Family Care First (FCF), a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported project, documents existing reintegration and alternative family care services in
Cambodia
, which are provided by civil society organizations (CSOs) throughout the country. The report includes recommendations regarding partnership, care models, case management, specialized services and further research, monitoring and evaluation.
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This Plan - based on the findings of an independent assessment commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and facilitated by UNICEF - presents key findings and 23 recommendations, sub-divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term actions, for an effective and efficient implementation of foster care, adoption and family support in
Cambodia
.
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This study from Coram Children’s Legal Centre (and commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation of the Kingdom of Cambodia and UNICEF Cambodia) sheds light on how different forms of alternative care are being used in the community. The study identifies push and pull factors that impact alternative care and documents care profiles for each of the five types of alternative care practices found in
Cambodia
- kinship care, foster care, pagoda-based care, group homes and residential care institutions and boarding schools.
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This study from Family Care First (FCF) and Responsive and Effective Child Welfare Systems Transformation (REACT) utilized a mixed method approach to data gathering and analysis to understand the effects of gender, identity, and institutional practices on the well-being of children in alternative care in
Cambodia
.
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The purpose of this review, developed by International Child Development Initiatives, was to present an overview of (as much as possible) evidence-based promising practices in Family Strengthening interventions in
Cambodia
, implemented by FCF | REACT partners.
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This short human rights in action article takes a critical approach to the translation of policy to practice (particularly as regards family-based alternative care initiatives and strengthening child protection systems) and highlights risks involved with haste, outcomes measured in numbers and unrealistic timeframes, and rapidly transforming practice with nascent investment in a country’s capacity to assess and respond to the real needs of children and families within their communities.
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This report from UNICEF, the first of its kind in
Cambodia
, brings together the dispersed data into a comprehensive profile of child protection in the country.
Read the Khmer version here
. The publication is structured around 14 core themes and key indicators including: children living without their biological parents, child trafficking, children living or working on the streets, children with disabilities, and more.
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This report from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) provides a brief history and overview of intercountry adoption in Cambodia and presents details of three adoption cases investigated in 2017.
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This study from UNICEF Cambodia examines child protection risks faced by preschool age children (3-5 years old) and adolescents (10-14 years old) in
Cambodia
and determines the interconnectivity between such risks and education. The findings highlight that proper parental care and more frequent interactions between parents or caregivers and their children is key to ensuring that children are protected from risks and that they receive basic services.
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This plan builds a solid and sustainable foundation for a modern juvenile justice system in
Cambodia
and provides effective and positive impact to current and future children who are in conflict with law. The plan aims to lead to continuous improvement of the current system and reduce the number of children in detention.
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This research study from UNICEF Cambodia was commissioned to generate a better understanding of three school communities in
Cambodia
: Islamic schools, Buddhist monastic schools, and floating schools with a focus on identifying challenges in delivering quality and inclusive education.
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In response to the Cambodia Study on Violence against Children of 2013, the Cambodian Ministry of Cults and Religion and The Supreme Patriarch Council, in cooperation with UNICEF, committed to promoting the role of pagodas and monks in effective prevention and response to violence against children and unnecessary family separation and to taking actions to improve the safety of children both within the pagoda compounds and in communities. This Wat Sangkahak Komar policy (or Child Safeguarding Policy) is part of those ongoing efforts within pagodas in
Cambodia
to respond to suspected and reported cases of violence against or abuse of children.
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In this blog post from the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Sarah Chhin - technical advisor to M’lup Russey, an NGO in
Cambodia
that assists orphans and vulnerable children - describes an incident in which foreign volunteers tried to block efforts to close an orphanage in Cambodia and reintegrate those children into families, describing the impacts of orphanage voluntourism and calling on volunteers, agencies, and charities to support communities and families rather than institutionalization.
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In this blog post from the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Stacie Ellinger of Children in Families (CIF), a
Cambodian
NGO, writes about a new program that CIF has launched called Rok Kern, which "offers an alternative program to community groups that would ordinarily visit orphanages in Cambodia."
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Understanding the Situation
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This study from the
Southern African Journal of Social Work and Social Development
sought to examine the psychosocial challenges facing children in residential childcare facilities in the Mashonaland Central province,
Zimbabwe
.
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This paper from the journal of
Psychoneuroendocrinology
examines associations between internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and inflammation in adolescents with a history of severe psychosocial deprivation and children reared in typical family contexts. The paper presents findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project in
Romania
, a longitudinal randomized trial of high-quality foster care as an alternative to institutional care.
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This study from the journal of
Psychological Medicine
examined whether global deficits in executive functioning (EF) mediate the association between severe childhood neglect and general v. specific psychopathology in adolescence. The sample consisted of 188 children from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a longitudinal study examining the brain and behavioral development of children reared in
Romanian
institutions and a comparison group of never-institutionalized children.
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This article from the
Children and Youth Services Review
explores how the type of placement in children's social care influences identity formation and contact with the birth family. It draws on 40 life history interviews with
Romanian
-born, care experienced young people who entered adulthood from different types of placement: 16 from residential care, eight from foster care, seven from domestic adoption and nine from intercountry adoption.
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This report on Aftercare from Udayan Care, Tata Trusts & UNICEF is based on research on “Current Aftercare Practices” (CAP), with regard to Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP), under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015, conducted in five states of
India
: Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. It is about the status of Aftercare youth, or Care Leavers (CLs), transitioning from state care to adulthood in the wider community.
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This article from
Emerging Adulthood
examines the challenges encountered by, and the opportunities available to, young adults as they transition from informal kinship-based foster care to independent living in the Bikita District of
Zimbabwe
.
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This study from
Emerging Adulthood
used a qualitative research design to uncover female care-leavers’ experience of aftercare in
Ethiopia
in 2017.
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This study from the
Journal of Child Health Care
used focus groups with 49 Looked-After-Children (LAC) in the
UK
to explore how to improve communication practices and ways of gaining feedback to facilitate quality improvement across healthcare.
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Policies, Standards, and Guidelines
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The objective of this document, developed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), in collaboration with the Urban Institute and Community Works West, is to detail a set of practices that correctional administrators in the
United States
can implement to remove barriers that inhibit children from cultivating or maintaining relationships with their incarcerated parents during and immediately after incarceration.
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This report from the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action examines the main elements of child abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence (nature of the act; perpetrator relationship to the child; motivation or intent; and outcomes) in ways that recognise the overlap and highlight the distinctions between each type of maltreatment.
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This list of common Community Based Child Protection (CBCP) - related terms and their definitions, developed by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, is intended to show the evolving definitions around CBCP. These definitions were collected through a systematic review of over 234 documents (both published and grey literature).
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This paper from the
Journal of Social Work in Developing Societies
is based on field work experience, review of relevant literature and studies on the alternative child care system in
Nigeria
. Findings suggest a range of family-based alternative child care that social workers in Nigeria and other developing societies may well consider in practice and programme intervention to help prevent unnecessary separation and reduce the number of vulnerable children going into institutional care.
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The aim of this report from Save the Children is to provide policymakers, service-providing organizations and child protection practitioners and child rights advocates with an easy to use reference document, to augment the implementation of support programmes for children and families in vulnerable circumstances in
Eastern Europe
.
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This report from Lumos documents the process undergone by an organization called Fundamor to close its institution in
Colombia
and move children to family-based care, drawing out successes and challenges.
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Human Rights Watch, 5 September 2019
BBC News, 4 September 2019
BBC News, 3 September 2019
The Guardian, 21 August 2019
ABC News, 20 August 2019
The New Indian Express, 19 August 2019
CBC News, 19 August 2019
The Korea Herald, 18 August 2019
ABC News, 17 August 2019
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NPR, 17 August 2019
Los Angeles Times, 16 August 2019
Associated Press, 15 August 2019
BBC News, 14 August 2019
Youth Today, 14 August 2019
UNICEF, 13 August 2019
Save the Children, 12 August 2019
Christianity Today, 8 August 2019
Vice News Tonight, 3 August 2019
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15-17 September 2019
Glasgow, Scotland
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15-17 September 2019
Muscat, Oman
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25-26 September 2019
Birmingham, UK
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14-15 October 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
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17-18 October 2019
Baltimore, MD, USA
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28-31 October 2019
Kampala, Uganda
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29-31 October 2019
Tel Aviv, Israel
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29 October 2019
London, UK
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Newsletter participants, currently 4,283 in total, work on issues related to the care and support of vulnerable children across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The purpose of the newsletter is to enable members to exchange information on matters of mutual concern. If you would like to share a document, raise a specific issue, request a newsletter subscription, or reach out in any other way to the Network, please send the information to us at
contact@bettercarenetwork.org
or visit our website at
www.bettercarenetwork.org.
Thank you!
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Better Care Network | 601 West 26th Street Suite 325-19, New York, NY 10001 - USA
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