Impact of UN guidelines on the provision of foster care

Introduction; According to UN ‘Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children’(Report of the Human Rights Council 11th Session, October 2009) The Guidelines for 193 Member states state that alternative care for young... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction; According to UN ‘Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children’(Report of the Human Rights Council 11th Session, October 2009) The Guidelines for 193 Member states state that alternative care for young children, less than 3 years, should be only provided in family settings. The aim of this study was to see the UN Guidelines have produced any measurable changes in the number of young children living foster care.
Methods: To establish the number and characteristics of children in foster care less than 3 years, a Survey of Government Official Statistics was carried for 54 Countries across Europe and Central Asia. Data from 2013 were compared to findings related to young children in foster care from a previous survey in 2003 of the same countries.
Results: Data from 44 countries in 2013 showed there were 66,354 children less than 3 years in foster care but the provision varied widely from country to country. Six countries used foster/kinship care exclusively for young children (UK, Norway, Iceland, Slovenia, Cyprus & Ireland). Ten other countries had increased the proportion of young children in foster care since 2003.
Discussion: Surprisingly, there were no significant associations between the number of foster families and the number of children under three in institutions (N= 28) or under eighteen in institutions (N=29). It has been observed that the increase in foster care provision over the past ten years appears to have absorbed the increase in the numbers of children being placed into ‘out of home’ care, partly due to greater recognition of child abuse and neglect and a proliferation of child protection services. Consequently, the number of children in institutions has reduced slowly. Children from ethnic minorities and/or with disabilities appear to be discriminated against for foster care and remain in institutional care for long periods of time.