#FamilyBasedSolutions

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.

Illegal Adoption

Posted on December 14, 2018September 30, 2019 by Florence

On hearing that Guatemala had put a moratorium on inter-country adoptions – meaning they would not allow any until further notice – a lady, who is herself a mother of adopted children, asked me in shock how the country could do such a thing: how could they leave all those poor children stuck there when there were families eager to adopt them? Like voluntourism, inter-country (or international) adoption is something that people tend to get involved in with the very best of intentions, but that has an unexpectedly large capacity for causing grief and trauma, and for damaging children.

Much like voluntourism, inter-country adoption started out as something done by a few people with a genuine wish to give a better life to children with no prospects, then turning into something that became popular, leading to the opening up of a market.

Children with Parents in ‘Orphanages’

Posted on December 7, 2018September 30, 2019 by Florence

Outrage is growing, as more people become aware of the fact that over 80% of children living in so-called orphanages have at least one – and often two – living parent. Even more so when they learn that many of these children were removed from their parents and put in an institution not to protect them, but to make money from their ‘orphan’ status.

The orphanage industry, which causes this situation, is a relatively recent phenomenon. But placing children who have parent willing and able to care for them in institutions is not at all a new thing. It reaches way back in history.

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.

Podcast Abandonment: No Other Option

Posted on November 19, 2018March 30, 2024 by Florence

The second podcast in the series and the first introducing stories from real life. Today’s podcast contains two stories, both chosen to illustrate why parents might decide to abandon their children.

The next podcast will appear in 4 weeks.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (15.8MB)

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Introducing the Podcasts

Posted on November 13, 2018November 16, 2018 by Florence

I am very excited that in the quest to raise awareness about various topics surrounding alternative care and institutionalisation, this website has expanded by adding a podcast series. You can find the first podcast HE RE.

Introduction Podcast

Posted on November 12, 2018March 30, 2024 by Florence

Check out the podcasts to hear real life stories that bring the theoretical information from the blogs to life. A reminder that we are not talking about statistics but about children.

The first podcast ‘Introduction’ will give background information about how this podcast series came to be and what you can expect from it. After that every podcast will feature one or more stories surrounding the theme that is announced by its title.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.2MB)

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What Is a Residential Childcare Institution?

Posted on November 9, 2018September 30, 2019 by Florence

It is often called an ‘orphanage’, even though most of the children living in it are not orphans. Or it is called a children’s home, while it cannot really be called a true home to the children, when their essential basic needs are not met. The most accurate word to use is residential childcare institution, but this is quite a mouthful. And as it turns out, even when you use the most accurate description, there is still a lot of room for confusion, because this term is used for a large variety of things.

“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.