01 Care Reform

The process of transforming the system of care from one orientation to another, in pursuit of an approach to care and protection that better meets the needs of children and their families and is in accordance with their rights. A common goal of systems reforms in many countries is the reorientation of the system from institutions to family-based care. This is called deinstitutionalisation. Resources that relate to deinstitutionalization planning and practice, including the process of transitioning individual services can be found in this section.

The time has come for a change in the childcare system. It is necessary to invest resources, firstly, to help families with children in crisis, and secondly, to create a sufficient number of foster families of different types. Children should live in families, not in institutional care, and the state is obliged to provide this.

-
Zhenya Ershova,
Speech given at the Celebrating 30 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child Workshop