Strategic planning for deinstitutionalisation (Part 2)

Financing deinstitutionalisation
Regarding financial matters, not only will it be important to develop well costed strategies and seek the reallocation of funding away from institutions, but also to deal with how funding is currently obtained. Thus, for example, a system essentially comprising “orphanages” funded by foreign charities will invariably resist reallocation of funds for family strengthening programmes or the development of family-based alternative care. In that case, the strategy will need to include awareness-raising in the donor countries and, if appropriate, requesting bilateral assistance to develop family-based care.In contrast, where all or most of the care system is publicly funded, the problem may lie in division of responsibilities: e.g. situations where institutional care is centrally funded and resource poor municipalities are required to fund preventive services and/or family-based and family-type care settings. These factors of how the financing of alternative care is organised, as opposed to what amounts should be devoted to it, are regularly overlooked.Data
So, developing deinstitutionalisation strategies is not a straightforward task. Examining, understanding, and addressing all the issues within a specific context in which institutions have been maintained to date is clearly a complex proposition. In this respect, an element that is essential to carrying out that task is almost always lacking at the outset: trustworthy, comprehensive, and useful data, both quantitative and qualitative. Strategising and planning without knowing at a minimum the numbers and characteristics of the children concerned, where they are, and why they are there would be a high-risk exercise. It jeopardises the appropriateness and effectiveness of the strategy since, among many other things, it precludes accurately planning preventive and reactive services, setting workforce requirements, and foreseeing resources needed.Summary
In summary, the goal of deinstitutionalisation is to reduce recourse to formal alternative care as a whole and not simply to replace institutions by other “suitable” forms of alternative care. To achieve this goal, deinstitutionalisation must be designed as an integral component of a broad child protection system strategy within which alternative care is an available option for children who are genuinely at risk of serious harm and need protection.Getting Care Right for All Children: Implementing the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children

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