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.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Identifying Those at Risk

Posted on June 25, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 19 of the explanation with the ToC: Once there are no more children in institutions, that too is not the end of the work to be done. Family-based alternative care and family strengthening do not just serve to absorb children who previously lived in institutions. These systems are in place to provide support and protection to the most vulnerable families and children in society.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Monitoring Children

Posted on June 22, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 18 of the explanation with the ToC: Once children have been placed back with their own families, or in foster families or other family- and community-based alternative care placements, that is not the end of the road or the work. The necessary support has to continue to be given to the families and caregivers (whether they are the child’s own family or not), and the child’s situation and well-being need to be monitored.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Increase Govt Involvement

Posted on June 18, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 17 of the explanation with the ToC: Whether this step is relevant, depends on the circumstances of your transition. If you are working with or for the government at the national level to set up a family-based alternative care system, obviously there is no need to get the government more involved in the process and the system.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Preparing Children 2

Posted on June 15, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 16 of the explanation with the ToC: Last Thursday the reasons for the need for preparation of children were explained, in this blog, some practical tips on how to help the child make a smooth transition.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Preparing Children 1

Posted on June 11, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 15 of the explanation with the ToC: Once a decision has been made about where a child is going to go, that is just the start of a lengthy road to move the child out. You cannot simply tell the child that this is what has been decided and then have him or her pack his or her things and be dropped off at a new home. Even if the child is to return to his or her own family, a period of preparation is necessary.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Redirecting Resources

Posted on June 8, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 14 of the explanation with the ToC: When an institution is to be closed, there tends to be a lot of resistance on many accounts, one of them being the ‘loss’ or ‘waste’ of the resources available to the institution. Generally, a residential childcare institution will have a building, possibly with land, furnishings of all kinds, supply stores and possibly vehicles. It will also have a funding stream to cover its costs and staff to run the place and take care of the children. Staff tends to be extremely worried about losing their jobs, in addition to other misgivings.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Designing Services

Posted on June 4, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 13 of the explanation with the ToC: Using the information gathered during the initial data collection and the individual assessments of children and their family, it is possible to get an overview of what services are needed, for how many people in what locations, whether these services are already available, whether organisations are operating in the relevant locations that might be willing and able to set up and run services there for ‘your’ children to use, whether you need to provide these organisations with support to do so (and if so, what kind of support), or whether you can build on existing services yourself; and what services are needed and not present in any form, and so need to be set up from scratch, by you.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Recruit Foster Carers

Posted on June 1, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 12 of the explanation with the ToC: Like the individual assessments, the recruitment and selection of foster families, caregivers for small group homes, mentors for supported living and other people who will be taking care of children in the community in the alternative care options that will be established, needs to be done at the local level. Ideally, children should be placed within the community that they came from or if that is not possible, the community near the school they have attended while in the institution. This provides the child with some established connections to the people living nearby.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Individual Assessment

Posted on May 28, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 11 of the explanation with the ToC: No matter whether you are working on the national, district or grassroots level, individual assessments need to be done for every single child, to be able to determine what his or her situation is and what kind of placement is in his or her best interest.

Model for Setting Up Alternative Care System: Capacity Building

Posted on May 25, 2020May 14, 2020 by Florence

Part 10 of the explanation with the ToC: Capacity building is a very general term to indicate things that are needed to make sure that people involved in the project are able to do their jobs or to help where help is needed. It involves: