In Geneve is het project gestart voor het ontwikkelen van een handboek bij de Richtlijnen voor de Alternatieve Zorg voor Kinderen (2009). Dit framework voor opvang van kinderen is in 2009 verwelkomd in de Algemene Vergadering van de VN. De Nederlandse vertaling staat op onze website. Het Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS), at the University of Strathclyde, heeft de opdracht gekregen om dit handboek te ontwikkelen samen met Nigel Cantwell, een onafhankelijk consultant op het gebied van kinderbescherming, degene die ook bij het schijven van de Richtlijnen zelf betrokken was.
Doel van het handboek is om richting te geven aan de praktische implementatie van de Richtlijnen. Ze doen dat door bestaande praktijkvoorbeelden te noemen uit de gehele wereld. Experts uit de gehele wereld is gevraagd om hieraan mee te werken en voorbeelden aan te dragen. Ook BCNN werkt mee en zal voorbeelden aandragen dus als u een goed voorbeeld hebt, zijn wij blij dat door te geven!
Meer info in het engels::
Ms Davidson is an established leader in professional development and its role in the effective implementation of knowledge into-practice in children’s services. She said: “The guidelines recognise that children out of parental care are amongst the most vulnerable people in our communities to having their rights violated.
“The handbook will be instrumental in making the guidelines real at a local level. It is a tool with the potential to make a critical contribution to this very complex area, to ensure that the systems that impact on children function in the best interest of children first and foremost, and assist children to achieve their full potential.”
Mr Cantwell, an internationally-recognised expert on child protection and a prime actor in the development of the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, said: “Reaching consensus on the guidelines has ensured that the rights of these particular children take a decisive step forward around the world.
“The handbook will reflect the heart of the guidelines’ message that children must not find themselves placed in alternative care unnecessarily; and where care has to be provided out-of-home, it is appropriate and tailored to each child’s specific needs, circumstances and best interests.”
Jean Zermatten, Chairperson of the international monitoring body the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, said: “This handbook will be an important tool in providing practitioners, organisations and governments across the globe with practical advice that can be applied in different countries, regions and cultures, to inspire the best possible rights-based care for children.”
The handbook was commissioned by an international consortium of funders, comprising UNICEF, Oak Foundation, International Social Service, and SOS Children’s Villages International – all of whom have a resolute commitment to the realisation of children’s rights in the context of alternative care.
With the aims of providing understanding, inspiration and resources, the handbook will be an important tool to enable policy makers as well as practitioners to find practical approaches to complex challenges, enabling them to best implement the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in their international, regional and country contexts.
The handbook will be designed to be useful to all concerned parties – from care providers and civil society to government bodies and legislators – as well as for reporting to national and international monitoring bodies.
This will be underpinned by the overarching principles and individual articles of the UNCRC. It will provide contextual information, links to policy and inspiring practice examples and will signpost other resources.
The project team is supported by an international steering group consisting of ATD 4th World, Better Care Network, EveryChild, International Social Service, RELAF, SOS Children’s Villages International and UNICEF.