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Children under three years in FORMAL CARE IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES The BIG PICTURE IN THE REGION

Children under three years in FORMAL CARE IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES The BIG PICTURE IN THE REGION. Presentation by Jean-Claude Legrand Senior Regional Advisor Child Protection UNICEF Regional Office CEE-CIS.

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Children under three years in FORMAL CARE IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES The BIG PICTURE IN THE REGION

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  1. Children under three years in FORMAL CARE IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES The BIG PICTURE IN THE REGION Presentation by Jean-Claude Legrand Senior Regional Advisor Child Protection UNICEF Regional Office CEE-CIS

  2. Separation: More children continue to be separated from their families. Children below three are, in general, at higher risk of family separation than older children NB: data for other CEE/CIS countries were not available through TransMonEE.

  3. Numbers: The « positive » overall decrease of the rate of institutionalisation of children 0-3 hides « negative » country specificities

  4. NB: 22,2% is the average percentage of children 0-3 among children 0-17 (if we consider that all age groups are equal – it is therefore an approximation.

  5. Access to services: There is too little use of foster care for children 0-3

  6. The rights of children 0-3 are violated and unrealized when they are placed in institutions

  7. CEE/CIS States have an obligation to Respect, Protect and Fulfil the rights of children 0-3 contained in the CRC

  8. 1) An equity issue … Source: EU Daphné Programme (2004)

  9. The profile of a mother who is forced to abandon a child … “aged about 25, with more than 3 children, illiterate or without completed education, unemployed before the birth of the abandoned child, with about BGN 85 monthly income per household member, with Roma ethnic identity (54.7%), living in a village or in a small town, the father is unknown or reluctant to recognize the child”. UNICEF Bulgaria (2010)

  10. Unity and stability of the family: • . • Age of the mother: • Size of the family: • Health of parents and children: • Disability of the parents or the child: • Low level of education of the parents • Parental abuse and neglect (lack of statistics) • Financial issues: • Any factor, including financial issues is sufficient to lead to institutionalization but set the stage for conditions by which other elements can lead to institutionalization.

  11. Societalfactors: • Socialism inheritance: “Professionals”/”State” know best; defectology tradition; • Stigmatisationof children with disabilities • Vulnerable groups deprived of adequate support • Migration of parents • Abandonment and relinquishment as loving choices (parents “offering a better future”); • Institutional factors: • Weaknesses within the health sector • Lack of coordination and decentralization of social services: • Lack of legal prohibition of placement of infants in residential institutions • Lack of community-based social services to support parents to take care of their children.

  12. The WayForwardFocusing on results

  13. UNICEF’s Call to Action: END PLACING CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS IN INSTITUTIONS Legislative changes limiting to last resort, and setting strict conditions for, the placement into institutional care of children below three years; Allocation of resources giving priority to the development of appropriate local services allowing alternative solutions for children below three with special attention to the needs of children with disabilities; Proper budget allocation for supporting vulnerable families through the development of appropriate family-based responses and services; Capacity-building and standards of practice for maternity ward and paediatric hospital staff to support parents of newborns with a disability and parents from most vulnerable groups, in order to discourage institutionalisation; Partnership with media and civil society to promote social inclusion of children deprived of parental care and children with disabilities.

  14. Helpinggovernments … • Establish a monitoring system of abandonment and relinquishment from maternity hospitals • Establish patronage nurses and home-visitation • Improve interaction between social welfare services and health services • Encourage early mother-to-child relationship • Improve health and social care professionals’ training • Establishment of standards of practice Communications Romania and Azerbaijan

  15. Helping society …. • Help the general public to be aware of children’s rights and the risks of institutionalisation for children below three years • Help families to understand more social services available • Help the public understand the foster care system • Help people understand discrimination (children of Roma origin and children with disabilities) “Every Child Needs a Family” campaign (Croatia)

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