Author: Florence

I am the founder of and consultant at Family-Based Solutions. I have started this website and this community, and I am the moderator. I have been involved in alternative care since 2007, having been involved up close in China, Brazil, India, Kenya and Myanmar. Initially I ran another NGO dedicated to improving the chance of survival and the quality of life of children in institutions, over time getting more and more involved with family-based alternatives and community services. In 2018 I folded the previous NGO and founded Family-Based Solutions. You can find more information on what I do now on the other pages of this website.

World Down’s Syndrome Day

Posted on March 21, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

Today is World Down’s Syndrome Day, a day to raise awareness about Down’s Syndrome and to help dispel some of the myths around it. Myths that in many places lead to children being abandoned and sometimes institutionalised.

Until recently even in so-called Western countries, and today still in many places do people have the impression that every child with Down’s syndrome is a worst-case scenario, with even doctors advising parents not to keep the child, because it is no use. This is a major misconception.

DI: Preparing the Children

Posted on March 18, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

A child who is moved from an institution into a family situation without any preparation, is likely to be traumatised and this may cause a lot of very challenging behaviour. It has been shown that if children with severe intellectual disabilities, who have lived in an institution for a long time, are moved to a family without preparation, the shock can actually kill them.

So, it is essential to provide proper preparation for the children, when you are planning to move them out of an institution. This blog will look at what that entails.

DI: The Institution’s Job

Posted on March 14, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

An institution deciding to move their children to family-based care – or being ordered to by their government – has a big job ahead of it. Just showing the children the door is not going to be enough and would lead to a lot of suffering and trauma among the children. It would be likely to lead to children ending up living on the street and/or being targeted for trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Making the move to family-based care needs to be responsibly handled and carefully planned. So, in this blog I will put forward some of the things that are very important to make sure of.

Podcast Deinstitutionalisation Obstacles

Posted on March 11, 2019March 30, 2024 by Florence

In today’s podcast you will hear some real-life examples of hurdles that can come up, in the early stages of the attempt to move children from institutions to family-based care. And an insight into just how high the stakes are and how important it is to make sure it is done right.

The next podcast will be posted in four weeks.

Please share this, to help spread awareness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:33 — 14.5MB)

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International Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2019March 8, 2019 by Florence

Today is International Women’s Day, something that is celebrated more exuberantly in some countries than in others. Whether or not Women’s Day is celebrated where you are, it is important to give some thought to the position of women and to their achievements.

This is not only useful and important in general, it is also relevant with regards to the efforts to move towards family-based solutions in alternative care.

DI: The Government’s Role

Posted on March 4, 2019March 2, 2019 by Florence

It is possible for individual institutions to decide to start deinstitutionalisation by themselves, at the grassroots level. They can look for ways to support the families of the children in their care, so that the children can go home. They can provide training to the staff working at the institution to give them the skills to become foster parents or small group home caregivers instead, for the children who do not have a home they can go back to.

I am currently involved with an organisation in India that is working not just towards making sure all the children in their care can be moved to family situations, but to create a replicable model that can be followed by others in the country. However, to be able to put together a sustainable system of family-based alternative care, some government involvement is always necessary.

Why Would An Institution Choose DI?

Posted on February 28, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

When you suggest deinstitutionalisation to the management of a residential childcare institution, you usually have an uphill battle. This is not surprising, because why would they want to put themselves out of existence?

Still, despite it starting out as an uphill battle, it is not a fight lost before it was started. There are actually a lot of good reasons for people running an ‘orphanage’ to choose DI, even if you disregard the ‘it is less harmful to the children’-one.

What Does Deinstitutionalisation Mean?

Posted on February 25, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

A very long word, often shortened to DI to save ourselves the trouble, that is thrown around more and more, in various different places. A word of some importance, and therefore important to understand. What exactly do people mean when they talk about deinstitutionalisation and what is involved in the process.

In this blog I will give a brief overview and in the following blogs I will pick out some elements that are mentioned today and look at them more closely, to allow a more thorough understanding to develop.

World Day of Social Justice

Posted on February 20, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

“Together we must set out to correct the defects of the past.” Nelson Mandela

Today, 20 February, is World Day of Social Justice. Something worth pausing to reflect on. The fight for social justice, for equal rights and respect, is one that has been fought for a long time now and that will continue for what looks like some time to come. The fight for social justice is fought on many different fronts, because there is still social injustice in many, many guises. As usual, in this blog, I will highlight the way this particularly relates to vulnerable children around the world.

Forever Families: Adoption

Posted on February 18, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

Often children who cannot stay with their parents need an alternative for a limited time. It might be days, weeks, months or sometimes even a few years. However, after that time they may be able to go back to their own parents. That, of course, is the ideal for any child.

Unfortunately, in some cases it is clear from pretty early on, that the child will never be able to return to the care of her parents or extended family. In these cases, it is possible to organise long-term foster care for the child, something that happens in many places. However, foster care usually does not give the same feeling of permanence and security as the other option: adoption.