Positive youth development (PYD), which arose as a counterbalance to the treatment models in youth work, stresses the role of family, community and other change agents, such as NGOs and educational institutions, in creating services, opportunities and support systems for young people to excel. The article tries to locate the context of PYD approach. Single case study method is employed to document the historical emergence of the Anubhav Shiksha Kendra (ASK) and its adoption of PYD approach. Though the study cannot be generalised, it provides a framework for future empirical studies on PYD in India.
Aim The objective of the present study was to explore the menstrual health experiences of adolescents residing in institutional care. Method An in-depth interview with 25 adolescents residing in institutional care was conducted from February to March 2022. The data collected through semi-structured interviews were transcribed and then translated for the report writing purpose. Results After inductive thematic analysis, four themes were identified, namely, menstrual experiences, access to menstrual products, social support and coping behaviours. Conclusion Based on the result findings, it can be concluded that it is high time for the policy makers, non-government organisations and government to join hands to address the needs of institutionalised adolescent menstruators. Only then, holistic women empowerment goal can be achieved. Limitation The present study was limited to qualitative analysis of 25 in-depth interviews from adolescents residing in one of the institutional cares of Gujarat state. Recommendations Future multicentric research studies could be conducted with large sample size by incorporating mixed method research design in order to gain deeper insights into the problem stated. Implications In the light of the experience of adolescent menstruators residing in institutional care, they can be educated about menstrual management. Counselling is necessary and the need of hour for adolescent menstruators to deal with how to handle emotions before and during menstrual phase.
Our article focuses on the national efforts advancing children’s right to alternative care services in Nepal. It presents the government’s existing laws and policies in providing responsible care to children in need of special protection and for children who cannot be placed in parental care due to various reasons for family separation. This article also looks into the history of alternative care in Nepal and discusses the alternative forms of care practised in the communities and their evolution, upholding the best interest of the child. We share the promising practices of kinship care and foster care (informal and formal) for children at risk of separation and child institutionalisation and for children removed from orphanages and children’s homes for family reintegration, implemented by The Himalayan Innovative Society in Nepal in partnership with Forget Me Not and Hope and Homes for Children. We, finally, conclude by sharing the key challenges and opportunities in the implementation of alternative care services for children in Nepal driving the care reform in the country.
Reflecting on the last decade, a promising trend is emerging in the promotion of family-based alternatives for children in Sri Lanka. Despite some plateauing due to certain humanitarian, environmental, financial and political issues, there is a move to reduce the number of children in residential care. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has a history of institutionalised care dating back to the nineteenth century and formalised care starting in the mid-twentieth century. Back then, the country faced many challenges including economic crises, a brutal war and a devastating tsunami that left thousands of children in desperate need for out-of-home placements; the only secure alternative being formal residential care. Since then, various legislative enactments were revised and passed for the care and protection of children. One of the most significant policies in relation to promoting family-based care is the National Alternative Care Policy for Children. This policy has sparked a fire across the Island drawing attention to the plight of some 10,632 children in institutionalised care and providing clear family-based alternatives. Despite a three-year delay, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant humanitarian crisis, action plans are now under way to implement the policy in all nine provinces. Additionally, new legislation on Foster Care is in the pipeline. During the last few decades, several research studies conducted in Sri Lanka have brought a variety of issues to light on the conditions of children in residential care and the devastating effects to their overall physical and mental health including a significant impact on development. Although residential care has improved in meeting a child’s basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and education, it still does not provide the individual attention a child needs to thrive. The country is no doubt moving towards family-based care, giving priority to family strengthening and strong gatekeeping mechanisms to prevent children from being unnecessarily separated from their families. The reduction in the number of institutions as well as in the number of child enrolment over the past 10 years attests to this. However, there is a long road ahead as Sri Lanka struggles to emerge out of a financial crisis with high inflation, making it difficult for people to buy essential goods and services. This crisis has affected many families, driving them to the breaking point and placing children more at the risk of separation. Moving forward, a collaborative force is needed to find solutions to these issues facing families, and there is hope as favourable prospects begin to appear in the horizon.
The main objective of this article is to understand the full spectrum of alternative care, various aspects covered under this theme and its progress in the SAARC countries over a decade respective country. This article hopes to understand and address the issues that can influence policy reforms, decision-making and improve practices and standards of care in the country. In addition to this, it is also to learn and get diverse ideas of practices prevalent in other societies, which will help in to strengthen research, knowledge and counselling practices currently prevalent. It is to bring forth the best practices that other regions might have been practicing. This article explores the existing policies and services that are prevalent in the country enhancing childcare and protection. It also tries to bring forth the good practices that are currently in place and how it can be strengthened further by addressing challenges within the system. It also provides insight into history and evolution, and role of stakeholders involved in alternative care in the country.
This article will present the evolution of alternative care provision in the Maldives. The Maldives is a small island nation located in the Indian Ocean, with a population of around 530,000. Since the signing and ratification of the UNCRC in 1991, there have been many improvements in children’s lives; for example, progress has been made in school attendance, improved child literacy rates and infant mortality has been reduced significantly. However, the country still faces several challenges in terms of child welfare, including internal child trafficking, child abuse, neglect and child marriage. There are currently 187 children living apart from their families in alternative care, which accounts for 0.02% of children in the country. The predominant form of alternative care provision remains institutional, which is typified by large numbers of children cared for by relatively low numbers of care staff. The article will explain, how historically, when a child was unable to remain with their parents, informal kinship care was the predominant form of provision. Often this would result in grandmothers, aunts and the wider family/kinship groups looking after children. However, with the establishment of a large reformatory school Islaahiya in Male Atoll in 1979, residential care was created as an option for boys who were described as having behavioural issues. It remained a key alternative care provider in the country until it closed in 2013. In 2004, the state-run institution Kudakudhinge Hiya was established to care for 45 boys and girls from 0 to 9 years old. Then in 2016 with the support of the Qatar Foundation, the state built another institution Fiyavithi, which still cares for 80 children under 13 years of age. The article will conclude with an overview of the most recent developments in the Maldives’ alternative care system. It will highlight how the Child Rights Protection Act (2019) has sown the seeds of care reform with primary legislation enacting regulations for family-based provision. This has formalised the previously established foster care panel that was set up in 2012. There are now 18 registered formal foster carers across the Maldives who are caring for 16 children. Furthermore, in 2020 whilst waiting for the growth in foster care, the state government started to shift from large-scale institutions by establishing nine smaller institutions, located across the atoll, each caring for no more than 25 children. The ministry has also embarked on processes of family reunification. The article will critically discuss these developments, highlight the challenges experienced during these recent reforms and provide key messages for policy and practice going forward.
The edifice of the Indian Constitutional order, which is rooted in the ideals of social justice, liberty, equality, and dignity of individual, secures the basic fundamental rights of its citizen without any discrimination. In spite of constitutional guarantees to its citizenry, vulnerable sections of Indian societies are subjected to various forms of exploitation. Amongst those, children are the most susceptible, due to societal indifference, and lack of compassion and empathy, which resulted in large-scale child trafficking in India. Phenomena of child trafficking and its volume pose a serious question about efficacy of existing policies and programmes against it. In India, there are ‘Child Care Institutions’ (CCIs) to look after the well-being and rehabilitation of such children. Unfortunately, not much attention has been paid to strengthening such homes. Under the existing framework, responsibility has been cast on CCIs to oversee the overall growth and development of such institutionalised children. Appropriate education is their only crutch on which they can overcome their physical and psychological trauma and suffering. From the present study, it is evident that educational rights of such children are imperative for the restoration of their life in the true sense. Measures for improving their life are suggested thereof.
The present study on the research topic is done to find out the menace of child trafficking, its extent and how we can combat it by effectively enforcing the existing laws in India. The main reason of child trafficking, extent, area, historical background, national and international legal framework, existing laws, schemes and tradition in India to know the effectiveness or drawbacks regarding child trafficking in India have been studied. It has been observed that there is lack of effective implementation of the already existing laws and of awareness among the people about their rights. As a result the society shows indifference towards the problems of child trafficking for begging, child prostitution, child labour, organ trade, drug trafficking and smuggling.
Widely across the globe, regardless of their country or continent, young people in alternative care and child protection systems as well as care leavers do face similar problems. In 2020, various child care institutions who form the International Care Leavers’ Community organised the International Care Leavers Convention which should originally have taken place in India but was, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved to an online platform, which created the opportunity for care involved people across the world to participate. During the convention, following a participatory approach, over 140 care leavers from about 25 countries came together for several webinars and discussed the challenges young people with care experience face globally and how the pandemic has enforced these vulnerable situations even more, as well as given suggestions and recommendations to improve this situation. This knowledge about the situation care leavers face amid COVID-19 and beyond was identified, collected and summarised into a transnational declaration, now which constitutes 11 universal gaps: financial security, housing, education, career support and employability, psychosocial support, physical health which includes health, nutrition and hygiene; legislative and policy reforms as well as awareness and identity, participation, the social network and finally, inclusion and social protection. These gaps can be found in a certain amount in all countries around the globe, as different as their care policies may be, and could therefore be seen as universal. By identifying them, this project tried to create a kind of toolkit, which can be used by institutions as well as care leaver communities on a national as well as on international level to reclaim change in these sectors, affirming that these gaps are the same and real for thousands of young people worldwide. This article aims to synthesise the 11 gaps and develop an analysis on how participation and network building can use the declaration to help and support care leaver communities and also care leavers as individual change maker as well as caregivers to better understand the systematic and institutional problems young adults face after leaving care and when starting their independent life as well as the recommendations in response to these universally defined problems.
Case management can be a complex process where multiple factors must be considered for the safety and well-being of a child in any care option. Miracle Foundation’s proprietary Home Thrive Scale TM is a strengths-based assessment tool that makes it easier to identify strengths, risks and address areas of support within a family home over time. A home’s safety is measured based on five well-being domains—family and social relations, health and mental health, education, living conditions and household economy—with the child and family’s thoughts at the core. Intervention options are then offered to put assessments into action. The tool serves to both prevent family breakdowns and reintegrate children from institutions back into families (or other family-based or alternative care options). Here, we provide an overview of the tool, including its purpose, set-up and functionality within a case management system. The use of the tool is illustrated with the COVID-19 situation in India where masses of children were rapidly placed from institutions back into families without preparation.
