New
Uruguayan Network for the Right to Right to Community- and Family- based Care: the participation of RELAF in the launching of this initiative
The Uruguayan Network for the Right to Right to Community- and Family- based Care had its launch on 20th April. Key actors of civil society and the Government of the country met at the “Teatro Solís” of Montevideo to be part of the event. In the opening speech, representatives of the Uruguayan network presented the brand-new initiative, accompanied by Matilde Luna, the leader of the project RELAF, who focused on analysing the regional context in which fits the launch.
In addition to the welcome of the new network, the event also served as a framework for the carrying out of two workshops, one for operators and one for children. In both activities (of which REALF and the Uruguayan Network were in charge of) they worked with the Friendly Versions of the Guidelines.
The workshop for operators and people who can be identified with the work of children was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Republic and was coordinated by Matilde Luna. It featured the participation of twenty-four people from different fields, like the IACI Foundation (childhood and adolescence citizens), SOS Aldeas Infantiles, Amanecer Home and psychology students, among other groups. Over the course of the two hour general meeting, there was a trial report on the conception of the guidelines, objectives and scope. Afterwards there was a second part, which consisted in group work, with practical examples of the implementation of standards that emanate from the document.
For its part, the workshop for children, co-ordinated by the professionals of RELAF, the IACI Foundation and Amanecer Home, was aimed at young people aged between 12 and 18 years old from “Aldeas Infantiles”, Montevideo and “Las Flores” and Amanecer home. Carried out in the Faculty of Psychology of the University of the Republic, the friendly versions of the guidelines were worked on, with a playful dynamic and space for reflection on the rights of children and its relation to the situations of the participants.
These workshops were spaces of intense work. Their objective was to collaborate with the formation of references on the subject of the right to life in a family and community. In this way, it is they who, from now on, can replicate their knowledge in new skills and thus strengthen the scope of the Uruguayan network.
Uruguayan Network for the Right to Right to Community- and Family- based Care: three days of meetings with key actors from society and the government.
The launch of the Uruguayan Network for the Right to Coexistence within the Family and Community was an event of great importance for RELAF. Firstly, the launching of an initiative of this kind is very significant, which is presented as a model of mobilization of the workers that share responsibility and an example for all countries of the region. Furthermore, the event has provided, over three days, a suitable environment for a series of important meetings.
Within a framework of advice and co-operation, RELAF representatives met with specialists from UNICEF and with members of the Board, programme managers and advisers of INAU (Institute for the Child and Adolescent of Uruguay). The objective: to accompany the process of reformulation that is being proposed in systems of care for children and adolescents, which is carried out by INAU with the cooperation of UNICEF.
The meeting focused on analysing the experiences of cities in other countries of the region, such as Asunción (Paraguay), San Luis and Misiones (Argentina). While specific cases of the closure of homes and the adjustment of policies for the protection were worked on, these experiences allowed a reflection of the system as a whole for the protection of children and adolescents without parental care or those at risk of losing it and its implementation methodology.
On the other hand, RELAF gave a lecture to operators of the various programmes of INAU, with the participation of people from all the municipalities of Uruguay and from different areas, such as foster care, adoption, family friend, etc. In this context, experiences of the adequacy of practices in the care of children without parental care in the region were shared. Then, a paper on specific experiences of deinstitutionalization of children took place. Finally, issues such as the economic components of a new system of protection and the re-housing of those currently working in homes and other areas of care were discussed.
Finally, in closing the participation of RELAF in Montevideo, a meeting was held with Jorge Ferrando, the director of INAU, and advisors of the Institute. There was a review on what was worked in the past few days and contributions in view of this new configuration of the policies of protection and care guidelines were given. It therefore amply demonstrated the value of the Governmental decision to assume the adjustments and the national Office of UNICEF to cooperate with this. And, above all, the importance of the Uruguayan network as a dynamic factor in the public policy of that country.
Guidelines Implementation and Monitoring Handbook.
The participation of Relaf in the elaboration of Guidelines Implementation and Monitoring Handbook.
During this year, Relaf’s work on the collaboration for the production of the Guidelines Implementation and Monitoring Handbook, which is carried out in the framework of the Working Group on Children without parental care of the NGO Group for the CRC, will continue to advance.
The contents of this document, whose aim is to provide professionals, technicians and political decision-makers with information, tools and resources, will be underpinned by the overarching principles of the CRC and the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children: the necessity and appropriateness of the measure of alternative care. In order to achieve this, Relaf and other organizations that work in this field have been making their contributions both to the approach and to the contents of the Handbook.
This document’s aim is to provide professionals, technicians and political decision-makers with information, tools and resources, with the purpose of facilitating the application of the Guidelines in the contexts in which they work. The contents of the Handbook will be underpinned by the overarching principles of the CRC and the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, which are the necessity and appropriateness of the measure of alternative care. Besides including information on other Human Rights tools and documents and international legislations, it will contain contextual information, as well as examples of good policies and practices.
Together with the ISS, SOS CV, International Movement ATD 4th World, Every Child Relaf has made its contributions, which are related to many different areas. Among them, it has encouraged the inclusion of a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic approach, which takes into account the diverse characteristics that alternative care has in the different cultural contexts in which the Handbook will be applied. Nevertheless, it has pointed out the necessity that it contains the subject of the development of de-institutionalisation initiatives, as well as related themes such as the recommendation to eliminate macro institutions and stop the internment of children under 3 years old as a specific point.
The collaboration on the production of the Handbook is a heavy task for Relaf, as it includes the responsibility for the consultation and the validation of the draft document in Latin America, which it was asked to carry out due to the scope of its contacts in the Region.
Joint activities with UNICEF for 2012
Guidelines, discrimination, and de-institutionalization: the three cooperation axes between Relaf and UNICEF-TACRO
During this year, Relaf will continue to work in cooperation with the Regional Office of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNICEF-TACRO) for the third year in a row. Between March and December, they will work on three lines of action: the application of the “Friendly versions” of the Guidelines for the alternative care for children; the monitoring of the “Study on the situation of institutionalised children and adolescents in the Americas”; and the de-institutionalisation initiative “Let’s eliminate the internment of babies”.
First, the diffusion and application of the Friendly versions of the Guidelines will be carried out, giving continuity to the cooperation that started two years ago with the aim of producing these documents. Thus, between March and December they will continue to be distributed and applied, and they will be translated into French. Besides this, the validation of the versions in French and English language will be carried out through activities in Haiti and Barbados.
Secondly, the objective with regard to the “Study on the situation of institutionalised children and adolescents” is to advance to the second phase, which involves its monitoring and the production of a report on discrimination in institutions. While the first phase, which was carried out in 2011, consisted of the collection and analysis of data through surveys and regional consultations, the second phase will revolve around the realisation of case studies in different countries of the region.
Finally, the Regional Initiative “Let’s eliminate the internment of babies” has the aim of raising awareness of the serious consequences of the institutionalisation of young children. The objective is to approach this issue at regional level through the realisation of the pilot program in a Latin American country. In this framework, we expect to obtain knowledge and inputs that will be applied throughout the region.
Through each of these courses of action Relaf will be able to continue working in the subject of child care in general, and more specifically in de-institutionalisation processes. It is expected that the third year of cooperation will consolidate the joint work and its results.
Workshops with children on the Guidelines
Various workshops took place throughout the whole of Latin America based on the child-friendly versions of the Guidelines recently published by the Latin American Foster Care Network (RELAF). RELAF will share this wonderful experience with the readers of the bulletin.
RELAF, with the support of UNICEF has produced two child-friendly versions of the guidelines, with the objective of contributing to spreading its awareness and its implementation. There are two versions of the child-friendly guidelines: one for children and one for the personnel of public entities and those deprived of being protected by their Rights. As a part of the production process of the material, “Your right to live in a family and to be cared for in all situations which affect your life”, contributions of children who are or are not in alternative care were taken into account, with the objective of producing a final, easy to read product which would incorporate the children’s personal feelings and thoughts towards the subject matter. During the validation stage of the draft version of the document, Argentinian, Paraguayan and Brazilian children’s contributions were taken into account during an activity held in the Relaf Seminar 2010, “Celebration of experiences. Strengthening the developments in the guarantee to the right to a family”. After the final text had been produced, the contents were shown to three children living in different situations of care and modifications were made from their contributions.
During this past year, numerous workshops have been held to make use of the material with operators and with children. Two booklets were produced, “Instructions for Training”, which are based on these workshops, explaining the appropriate methodology to be used.
The workshop’s objective
The objective of the workshops is to aid the children’s learning and reflection over their right to live in a family and a community through the use of the child-friendly version, “Your right to live in a family and a community in all situations that affect your life”. It is also pointed out that the version serves as a tool for consulting and educating in order to deepen the knowledge which surrounds the rights and in this way promote an active participation of the children in the fulfilment of the rights. During the planning of the methodology to be used in the workshops, great importance was given to a game which the children can freely express their thoughts and feelings towards the themes exposed in child-friendly version: the responsibilities of the parents, the State and the community which cares for the children, the characteristics of alternative car, the importance of listening to the child’s voice when decisions are being made which will affect the child.
The workshops are divided into three stages, an initial stage of playing games which encourage the children to socialise;therefore the children get to know one another and the coordinators of the workshop. In the following stage, activities are held to encourage the children to reflect over the contents of the material and to adapt the contents into their own lives. In the last stage, the participants are placed into different groups and instructed to create a mural which represents the themes covered through drawing. At the end of the workshop, each participant is given a copy of the child-friendly version of the Guidelines and a diploma for participating.
To give the children a voice
Our objective, as is the objective of the child-friendly version, is to hold workshops with children without it mattering which type of care they come from (it can be parental, institutional, foster care etc.) and also to respect the premise of the rights, and that their knowledge and access to these rights are fair for everyone. Therefore, these workshops took place throughout the past year with groups of children living in different care situations. From our experiences we realised that the themes to which the children gave the most importance to during the games and debates were the following:
-The importance of children being informed of the reasons why what happens happens in their family, or why certain decisions are made.
-The children have a universal awareness of the Rights and the responsibilities of all the adults (not only the State) that fulfil them.
-A lot of importance was given to the fact that their desires should be taken into account when a decision is being made and if something bad happens at home, there should be somebody who they can talk to.
-The children expressed the need for more participation in the elaboration of documents that concern childhood and the need for better access to the information.
-In the case that a child is separated from their family:
a) The place they live is close to their family and friends.
b) In spite of it not being with their parents, they have a relation to whom they appeal.
c) They can choose which school they study at, the activities they want to do etc.
d) They are guaranteed to be able to keep in contact with their siblings.
Relaf Seminar 2012: “Acknowledging the experiences. Creating tools for the Guarantee of the Right to Community- and Family- based care”
October 2012 has been set as the date in which the next Relaf Seminar will take place. The venue has not been established yet. Some members of the Latin American Consultative council which have considered the possibility of holding the event in their countries are currently working actively to interest and commit their governments in its realization.
While Relaf Seminars 2007 and 2009 laid the conceptual foundations and the Seminar in 2010 served as a recognition of the experiences in the region, the proposal for 2012 is to advance in the elaboration of tools for practice, giving continuity to the design of specific standards based on ethic principles and the Human Rights approach that guide the practices of the programs. In the framework of Relaf Seminar 2010 the friendly versions of the UN Guidelines for children and adults were elaborated, and the Kit for the call for foster families was presented. Both of the materials are included in the “Relaf toolkit”, to which new elements will be added in the framework of the next Seminar.
In relation to this, before the Seminar Relaf will carry out a “Contest of good initiatives and relevant alternative care practices in Latin America”, and the final product will be an “Implementation guide of foster care programs: theoretical and practical lineaments with a Human Rights approach”. The call to participate will be opened for both civil and governmental organizations that manage foster care programs in Latin America. The “Evaluation Commission” will identify those experiences where one or more stages of the management of the program stand out because of their work approach. During Relaf Seminar 2012 the awards will be presented. The compilation of the relevant experiences will give birth to lineaments for the practice of foster care with a Human Rights approach, making up the Guide that was previously mentioned above.
RELAF receives interns from the University of Nottingham, England
RELAF is implementing an internship programme with the University of Nottingham, England. This agreement was made possible thanks to the work of Dr. Erica Dantas Brasil, who as well as carrying out her role as coordinator of the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies of the said university is also an investigator in the field of fostering and a member of the Latin American Consultative Council of RELAF.
In the first experience of this exchange, in August and September RELAF will be receiving two interns: Imogen Molke and Freya Macknight, who are going to work in our office in the city of Buenos Aires during a period of six months.
The students are going to have the task of translating materials and products of RELAF from Spanish to English and Portuguese which, as well as being a rich and educating experience for the students will also represent benefits for the users of our network, as it will make available all of our materials and communications that aren’t currently available in other languages.
We would like to thank Dr, Erica Dantas Brasil for putting us in contact with the university and for helping us to plan the programme, as well as the students for their interest in participating.
Welcome!
Argentina: La Algarroba, we share its experience.
La Algarroba is an association that works in the north of the province of Córdoba, Argentina, in the cities Punilla, Deán Funes and Cruz del Eje. The purpose of this initiative is to contribute to the human, family and community developments from a right approach, creating spheres for individual and family assistance, community development and integration and the appraisal of the cultural identity.
La Algarroba is a sphere of family and community strengthening that accompanies supports and provides the families with tools so that they become spheres of care and protection of the children and adolescents from Córdoba, guaranteeing their right to live and grow up in their family environments.
La Algarroba develops the following lines of action:
1. Individual and family strengthening
Individual spheres
Group social, therapeutic and artistic spheres.
2. Community development and integration
Social activities; therapeutic aid activities and promotion in the Communities.
Support for troubled families “Community services network”.
Active participation in the System promotion and protection of the rights.
Training and consultancy.
3. Appraisal of the cultural identity
Artistic activities, informative talks, spheres of reflection on first nation people, series of typical cultural expressions of the Region, knowledge circle and so on.
For further information on the activities that are carried out, please enter:
http://www.laalgarrobaencomunidad.blogspot.com/
Uruguay: “INAU calls for families that are willing to take care of children”
Source: http://www.larepublica.com.uy/comunidad/460510-inau-convocara-a-familias-que-quieran-cuidar-ninos
3.000 children are institutionalized in the homes of the Instituto del Niño y Adolescente del Uruguay-INAU (Institute of the Child and Adolescent of Uruguay). From September onwards, children under the age of two will not stay for more than 45 days in institutions, while a period of three months has been established for children between two and seven.
In order to achieve this, INAU commits itself to develop foster care and soon will launch a campaign to create a record of families that will take care of children in different modalities.
The priority is that children stay with relatives or neighbors that mean a “significant bond” for them. Actually and as an exception, only few kinship families are part of the carers program. Thanks to the new record, these families will make up one of the modalities created by the body, together with the “strange foster families” and the “urgency families”.
Mexico: “A big agreement for childhood is established”
Source: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/ciudad/106857.html
The government of the capital will sign an inter-institutional agreement with UNICEF in order to establish a policy for the protection of institutionalized children that goes beyond the current administration.
The Human Rights Commission of the Federal District (CDHDF) will act as the observer, in order to prevent cases such as the one of the Home Casitas del Sur, in which 13 have disappeared. The agreement aims to create a public policy that allows supervising the children’s and shelters. Currently there are 48 civil society organizations and private assistance institutions that are taking care of 1,886 children in the Mexican capital city.
Paraguay: “Sheltering hearts”
Source: http://www.abc.com.py/nota/abrigando-corazones/
Every time there are more children in Paraguay that suffer from the lack of family care. In this context, Corazones por la Infancia works to provide them with protection and shelter. Corazones por la Infancia is a member of Relaf and the Red Nacional de Acogimiento familiar-REDNAF (National Foster Care Network) and since 2004 it has had an inter-institutional agreement with the Center of Adoptions through which work is carried out from two well-defined aspects: foster care and bond strengthening
.
The program fosters children from 0 to 2 years old that are in situation of abandonment. The court refers the intervention to the Center of Adoptions to carry out the search for the biological family of the child. At the same time, this implies the care of the child in a foster family. These families do not have to be motivated to adopt the child, only to take care of him or her until the judicial proceeding ends (up to and including one year).
The period of time established by the law for the search and maintenance of the family bond is 3 months (90 days). When there are no possibilities of family re-integration or no relative has been found, or when the relatives (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity) are not in the right position, the court declares the child in state of adoption. This is when a family for the child is started to be looked for and the accompaniment of the child so that he or she meets and starts getting to know the adoptive family.