A critical consideration of recent international efforts to strengthen child protection systems

Over recent years, practitioners in international child protection have made a conceptual and practical shift beyond individual projects toward child protection systems efforts. These efforts have sparked a fertile series of... [ view full abstract ]

Over recent years, practitioners in international child protection have made a conceptual and practical shift beyond individual projects toward child protection systems efforts. These efforts have sparked a fertile series of programmatic experimentations, concepts, and working approaches, as well as practitioner debates. However, this shift at the global level has had challenges in filtering down to effective policies and sustainable programs on the ground

Despite progress, both the child protection systems discourse and practice have shortcomings that constitute important stumbling blocks. These challenges have the potential to not only undermine the effective implementation of international strategies in child protection but also the credibility of the international child protection field and the positive outcomes it aspires to achieve for children and families. It also means there is a lack of consensus at national and local levels about how to design and implement relevant policies and programs.

This oral presentation will be focused on a white paper which sets out critical analysis of recent child protection systems efforts, written by a diverse group of experts drawing from international non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions, donors, consulting companies, and child protection networks. The paper frames the debate in terms of a structuralist versus a functionalist approach, and goes on to identify challenges in current child protection systems efforts. It then proposes and explores a set of principles and examples of child protection systems efforts that constitute some potential answers to these challenges, including:
• Applying systems theory to child protection efforts
• Understanding and engaging the child in context
• Making families and communities central to child protection
Finally, it briefly outlines a few policy implications for consideration and discussion, as well as some unresolved issues and a brief discussion of current trends and the solutions discourse.