#communityservices

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.

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.

So How DOES One Help?

Posted on February 4, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

As the trauma of the expensive December-month is starting to fade, this might be a good time to have a look at what causes you would like to donate to this year. People who really want to help vulnerable children, may feel thrown off kilter after hearing that donating to so-called orphanages actually does a lot of harm, despite the best intentions. This is very understandable. I really hope that this will not shake their determination to make a difference and donate to causes that would be of great help.

So in this blog I want to give an overview of the kind of things that ARE beneficial to vulnerable children and that can use backing and financial support.

What About Children with Disabilities?

Posted on January 31, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

A five-year-old girl, weighing 6kg, who has lived in an institution since she was a few months old, because she has spastic cerebral palsy. At five years old she is the size of a very skinny 18-month-old and she has reached the milestones of a four-month-old baby. On first meeting her, it is easy to presume that she is very severely impaired, both physically and intellectually. However, appearances are deceiving.

Combating Poverty, the Cheaper Option

Posted on January 24, 2019September 30, 2019 by Florence

As mentioned in the blog at the start of the month (HERE) poverty is very high on the list of reasons why children end up being separated from their parents, and in many cases institutionalised. This is something that can be tackled relatively simply.

When I talk about poverty relief, I am not talking about pie-in-the-sky wishes like an end to hunger globally (and let’s throw in world peace for good measure). Of course I would like to see that, but let’s go one step at a time. In this blog I want to mention a series of practical measures that are already being implemented in many places, including in some low-income countries. Measures that have been shown to be very effective, as well as very cost-effective.

What About Parental Problems?

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

Wait a minute, you might say, didn’t you say in the overview that some children need to be taken away from their families for their own protection? Because they are being abused or neglected, or because they are surrounded by domestic violence or substance abuse. Nothing to be done there…

While it is true that there will always be some children who need to be removed from their families for their protection, this is actually only a very, very small group… IF support systems are in place. Even when parents are facing serious problems or are really struggling to raise their children, very often it is possible to help out in ways that allow the child to stay with the family, safely.

Increasing Momentum of Deinstitutionalisation

Posted on December 31, 2018December 8, 2019 by Florence

As the year draws to a close, it seems almost inevitable to look back and to look forward. Because my work and life are completely entangled with children in institutions and the quest to get them out of there, this features heavily in these ponderings, even on a personal level, for me.

I invite you along with me, as I look back and look ahead. I feel the past year has been a good one, for moving children towards family-based solutions.

Becoming Aware and Becoming Involved

Posted on December 27, 2018September 30, 2019 by Florence

Last summer, I was having dinner with some people and one of them told me that a friend of his was running a children’s home, somewhere in Africa. He said that there was a real need for that kind of thing, to keep the children safe and well. I told him that I understood his admiration and his friend’s good intentions, but that unfortunately this was not in the best interest of the children. In about five minutes, I outlined the consequences of institutionalisation and the orphanage industry that is blooming around it and the alternatives that give children far better chances in life and are more cost-effective.

The man sat there pretty gobsmacked, as he was processing the information. Later he told me that that conversation had turned his life upside down. If you have been reading the blogs of the past four months without any prior knowledge about the effects of institutionalisation, it is likely that you are feeling much the same.

The Real Cost of Institutionalisation

Posted on November 27, 2018November 30, 2018 by Florence

When you start talking about the need to move away from institutional childcare, towards family-based care, you are often confronted with the argument: ‘it is too expensive, we cannot afford to move way from institutions’. It is a very persistent myth that institutional childcare is the most efficient, cost-effective way to care for children without parental care.

Since these days the best way to convince anyone of your point of view is to come with a financial argument, let’s have a look at the real cost of institutionalisation, not just in the moment, but in the long run.

“Intellectual Disability Among Children Everywhere”

Posted on November 5, 2018September 30, 2019 by Florence

This week the latest manual, the fourth in the series ‘Children Everywhere’, has come out. Originally, it was written for the NGO Orphanage Projects, giving advice to people running institutions on how to provide better care to children with intellectual disabilities. The writing and publishing of a manual do not happen in the space of a day or a week, so it was written well before any plans of folding Orphanage Projects and starting Why Family-Based Solutions occurred to me.

This does not mean that the book is no longer relevant, however. First of all, there are still many, many institutions caring for children with intellectual disabilities, without necessarily being quite aware of the needs of these children. But secondly, although written for institutional situations, the manual can play an important role in family-based care too.