What are the challenges when supporting lone children?

Offering support and alternative care to unaccompanied and separated children, and those who may have to be separated from parent/s and legal/customary caregivers they are travelling with, is not always a straightforward or easy task.

The challenges

Some of the challenges you might face include:

• Overwhelming numbers of children arriving into a country they wish to remain in, or on the move through transit countries
• Difficulties distinguishing between children and young adults
• Difficulties identifying whether children are accompanied and separated or not
• Lack of suitable alternative care options and availability of other services
• Even though you know children should be placed in good quality alternative care, such services don’t exist and unsuitable placement in detention centres or adult transit camps might be an option you have been obliged to use
• Being unable to provide unaccompanied children with separate accommodation from adults
• Being unable to provide children the services they have a right to receive
• Lack of access to training
• Lack of coordination and cooperation between professional services

The causes

Some of these challenges may be caused by:

• Lack of political will to make changes
• Lack of resources — including adequate numbers of well trained personnel
• Laws and policies that do not safeguard the rights of children
• Laws and policies that are discriminatory and harmful, as, for example, allowing the detention of unaccompanied and separated children based on their migration status

Further challenges might include situations when you wish to protect and support a child who does not want the help on offer, or who only wants to remain in safe accommodation for a few days before departing again.