Roadmap to Deinstitutionalization

The following report is from 2007 and literally is a roadmap to deinstitutionalization. This 131-page pdf focuses on Europe, but this can be applied worldwide. In fact, one of the groups that put this research-based report together was Hope and Homes for Children-the NGO that assisted in deinstitutionalizing the first Rwandan orphanage. We discussed that project  in a post we wrote earlier today. See here.

De-institutionalising and Transforming Children’s Services is the report.

A few things that I would like to point out are as follows:

Pdf page 22 discusses a “package of care” approach.

Pdf pages 47-49 discuss the action plan to preven infant abandonment. This includes community, hospital and national recommendations.

Pdf pages 54-56 discuss comprehensive child assessment.

Pdf pages 64-67 discuss family placements. This is a section that I would like all PAPs and APs to read.  It discusses various forms of foster care, domestic and international adoption in ways that American agencies never discuss.

Two concepts that American adoption agencies and the Christian Orphan Movement seem to reject out of hand for foreign countries are

“Long-term foster care

For some children, it is clear that they will never return to the birth family, but they require the experience of a secure, stable family life. One way of providing this is through longterm foster care. There are certain circumstances in which this option should probably be

considered rather than the option of adoption. These are:

•With older children. Studies suggest that the older the child is at the time of placement the greater is the risk of an adoption breakdown. Therefore in some circumstances, long-term fostering is needed.

•With groups of siblings. It is rare that appropriate adoptive families can be found for large groups of siblings. Since sibling relationships are extremely important, and for children separated from their parents, often represent their only biological family relationships, every effort should be made to reunite siblings or to keep them together. There are of course exceptions to this rule.

•With children for whom it is possible and desirable to maintain a relationship with the birth/extended family, even if they cannot live with the family. Although children are hurt by the experience of separation from their family, they can learn to accept what has happened to them, and for many, this acceptance comes more easily if they maintain some sort of relationship with their family.

Specialist foster care

For children who have special needs including physical and learning disabilities, or children with severe behavioural problems, specialist foster carers, who undertake additional training, can provide excellent family environments. It is most important, however, that these services receive additional support, including additional remuneration, respite care and counselling/support groups, as caring full-time for children with special needs is highly stressful.”

Instead, their focus is to internationally adopt these children. International APs rarely receive that level of training  and this level of postadoption services isn’t even available for most international APs.

I especially like the recommendation on international adoption on pdf page 67: “Like national adoption services, International Adoption agencies should offer their assistance to parents free of charge and fundraise independently of the service, as many other charities do. For example charities who offer counselling and support for abused children and non-abusive parents do not charge the clients directly for the service, but fundraise separately in accordance with national guidelines.”

Chapter 7, starting on pdf page 84 discusses preparing and moving children. Preparing children for IA is nonexistent or coercive at best.

So for all of those hand-wringing people out there who say that deinstitutionalization can’t be done, the culture of the country prevents it or studies would need to be done: The studies HAVE been done. This document literally gives a step-by-step process. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Rwanda has already shown that this can work. It is worth noting that the team of people that they recommend to be involved in this process does NOT include anyone in the adoption field, especially FOREIGN ADOPTION AGENCIES! Read this and contrast with the US adoption-industry-centric tactic called The Way Forward Project which has AP and US interests in mind . See our post here.

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