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Strengthening Family Care

All Children have the right to grow up in a supportive and caring family environment. Whenever possible, children should be cared for by their parents and families. Sometimes children may face a risk of separation from their families due to several factors. This does not mean parents do not or cannot care for their children in the short-term or long-term. Some parents need additional support to care of their children. 
Strengthening at-risk or vulnerable families is the first line of defence against their breakdown. Its primary purpose is to prevent the separation of children from their biological parents. This is a pivotal intervention as many children in difficult circumstances and institutional care belong to families with poor access to social security measures. Furthermore, family strengthening plays an equally important role for children in family-based alternative care, such as kinship care, foster care, or other customary practices across cultures. Family strengthening is also a sustainable and long-term measure that allows for deinstitutionalisation. Family strengthening and its allied support interventions must consist of comprehensive legislation, policies and programmes to empower the family to provide quality care to children within the community. When implemented effectively, family strengthening forms a complete safety net around children and caregivers to avoid their neglect, abuse, separation or institutionalisation.


RESOURCES

  • Before, Not After: An Evaluation of CINI's Preventative Approach to Child Protection in India
    Elizabeth Donger and Jacqueline Bhabha, 2021

    This report documents innovative community strategies for preventing serious violations of children’s rights. This report describes CINI's “systems strengthening” approach to improve holistic overall functioning of child protection systems so that different types of harm and violence against children are prevented from occurring.

  • Webinar Report Gatekeeping as a Systematic Process: Preventing Child’s Separation
    Miracle Foundation India, 2023

    The Webinar “Gatekeeping as a Systematic Process: Preventing Child’s Separation” was organised by India Alternative Care Network (IACN) in association with Miracle Foundation India, on April 28, 2023 and was attended by participants from across the country. The webinar was organised with the objective to understand gatekeeping with a vision of getting acquainted with the components, tools, mechanisms, stakeholders and their role in gatekeeping and learning some promising practices at the Primary and Secondary levels of gatekeeping. This report presents key learnings from the webinar.

  • Standard Operating Procedure for care and protection of children in street situations
    Save the Children, NCPCR, 2020

    Developed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Save the Children, this framework serves as a comprehensive guidebook for addressing myriad needs of street-connected children. SOP 2.0 makes pertinent recommendations when it comes to using existing legal frameworks and social welfare schemes for improving the lives of children living on the streets across India. This milestone document is a guidebook for various stakeholders when it came to addressing the unique needs of street-connected children.