From Faith to Action - Faith to Action Initiative

Residential CareBased on Family ModelsOrphanages that serve large numbers of children in a singlefacility are not able to provide the individualized care thatchildren require. In an effort to address this, some largerinstitutions are transitioning into smaller group homesmodeled on family life. Children live in small, mixed-agegrouphouseholds with trained “houseparents” who areable to provide more personal and consistent care.Once a child has been placed in aninstitution, every effort should bemade to fi nd reliable family care.Out of Orphanagesand Into the CommunityIn some regions and communities, efforts are being made toreplace orphanages with family-based care. Resources that wereonce used to maintain institutions are now used to reunitechildren with their families and, when this is not possible,to recruit, train, and monitor foster parents. Older youth areprovided with assistance in areas such as vocational trainingand setting up households to help them gain independence inthe community.Child Protection Society (CPS), Harare, ZimbabweChild Protection Society is one of the Zimbabwe’s oldest child welfareorganizations. For many years, CPS operated a large dormitorystylechildren’s home called Chinyaradzo. In 2002, CPS soughtand received funds to convert part of Chinyaradzo into six smallerunits based on a family model. In each home, carefully selected andtrained houseparents care for eight to ten children ranging in agefrom infancy to 18 years. The units are totally integrated into thecommunity, with no signage identifying them with CPS. The childrenattend local schools and play with neighbor children. This approachgives the children an opportunity to build personal relationships,while providing them with greater emotional security and a sense ofbelonging. Life skills training is offered to help youth prepare for theirfuture in the larger society. Opportunities to develop friendships andmentoring relationships with people in the community are key to theprogram’s success.Having observed fi rsthand the limitations of institutional care, CPSalso initiated a community-based program to support children infamily care in urban Harare. Subscribing to the ideal that everychild should have the right to experience family life, CPS works topromote foster care and actively lobbies against the establishment oforphanages.Jerusalem Children and Community DevelopmentOrganization (JeCCDO), Addis Ababa, EthiopiaJeCCDO, formerly known as Jerusalem Association Children’sHomes, established four residential institutions in response to theneeds of children who were orphaned by civil war, drought, and theresulting famine of 1984. In 1996, the management began a fi ve-yearstrategic planning and assessment process that led to their decisionto de-institutionalize based on a number of factors. Staff observedthat youth lacked exposure to community life and had a diffi cult timesustaining themselves when they left the orphanages. JeCCDO alsorecognized that the costs of residential care were high, limiting thenumber of children they could assist.JeCCDO’s team developed a plan that included a number of creativestrategies. Staff went with children to their birthplaces to track downtheir families and relatives. Some parents, separated from theirchildren for years, had not even realized that they were alive. In caseswhere reunifi cation was not possible, foster families were found.Families were provided with a small grant to cover resettlementcosts for the child. JeCCDO social workers made follow-up visits tothe children as they adjusted to their new lives. To date, JeCCDOhas reunifi ed and reintegrated nearly 1,000 children into familyhouseholds. For orphans aged 15 and over in need of independentliving arrangements, JeCCDO provided vocational training andincome-generating activities along with a small amount of initialcapital for each youth. JeCCDO now operates integrated communitybasedcare programs throughout a large part of the country, helpingmany children and youth remain in family care.21