REINTEGRATION: Making the path by walking

ObjectiveNational efforts to reintegrate children living in Ugandan child care institutions seek to ensure that every child can live in a nurturing family. At the same time work is also underway to prevent unnecessary... [ view full abstract ]

National efforts to reintegrate children living in Ugandan child care institutions seek to ensure that every child can live in a nurturing family. At the same time work is also underway to prevent unnecessary separation of children from family and a wide range of actors are engaged in building knowledge, skills and collaborative structures at all levels to support achievement of this goal. This presentation will distill lessons on forms of local collaboration that show promise in supporting reunification and reintegration of children in 12 Districts.

Methodology

Reintegration of children leaving institutions outside of family care in Uganda is deeply shaped by the particularities of the systems and structures within which these efforts are being applied.  Important entry points for accelerated action on reintegration have been created by building collaborations at District level among a wide range of local actors involved in providing or overseeing alternative care who have been mobilized to participate and support the implementation of the Uganda Alternative Care Framework.  Child Care Institutions (CCI) for example are not only obliged to comply in reintegrating children but have been engaged and trained on quality standards and procedures of reintegration so that they can participate to support the process.  In the same way other local formal and informal structures and actors have been engaged to aide tracing of families, verification of households and to support children reunited in the process of reintegration while ensuring standard- based practices.

Lessons learnt

Processes for reintegration of children are outlined in international standards. However their application in Uganda has been shaped by the local contexts and structures that vary throughout the country.  In many instances government, non-governmental and private actors have had to learn together and establish new paths for collaborative action.