Position paper: The Right to Live and Grow up in a Family for all Children
Disability Rights International (2019)
This position paper asserts that while international law establishes that children with disabilities have the right to grow up in a family, they are often separated from families due to stigma, discrimination, and economic marginalisation, are more at risk of being placed in institutions than other children and are often left out of deinstitutionalization and community programs. The paper explores the limitations of UNCRC surrounding the rights of children with disabilities, new protections provided by the CRPD, the dangers of small institutions and groups homes, the need to bring UN standards into compliance with the CRPD and the obligations of donors.
The Right of the Child to Family under the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
European Network on Independent Living (2019)
This two-hour webinar explores family and community integration of children under the UNCRPD, and particular implications for group homes and residential care.
Practitioner video: Community care for CwD in Uganda
Better Care Network Uganda
This nine-minute video highlights a practitioner in Uganda who supports parents to care for their children with special needs within the community. The video explores the practicalities of community-based care for children with disabilities, from the practitioner's point of view.
Practitioner video: Foster care for CwD in Cambodia (parts 1 and 2)
Better Care Network, 2019
These ten-minute videos highlight a practitioner in Cambodia who works on making family-based care inclusive for children with disabilities. Part one explores key learnings around supporting caregivers to care for children, including the importance of managing stress and expectations, developing trusting relationships and taking a whole family approach to support. Part two focuses on learnings around recruiting foster families to care for children with disabilities, including the types of families to target and how to use role-modelling to address issues of stigma in the community.
A Better Future is Possible: Promoting Family Life for Children with Disabilities in Residential Care. Manual for Professionals
ISS (2016)
This manual equips practitioners who have direct contact with children with disabilities who live in residential care with information to support their reintegration into families. The manual is structured by case management steps (identification, assessment, preparation, etc), and also includes recommendations for authorities.
Deinstitutionalisation for Children with Disabilities: Technical Guidance for UNICEF’s Engagement in National Care Reforms
UNICEF (2019)
UNICEF’s Engagement in National Care Reforms accessed here. The technical guidance aims to guide safe deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities through:
- Promoting better decision-making among policymakers and child welfare professionals;
- Supporting governments to understand the need for such work and to plan, monitor, evaluate and sustain the reforms, as well as linking these reforms to broader disability-inclusive changes across sectors and making a contribution to social justice;
- Increasing political will, passion and vision for the development of a child care system to address the range of needs of children, stimulating preventive work to reduce overall numbers placed away from home, and promoting family-based alternatives for the majority of children in the care system.
- Describing key elements of the deinstitutionalization process, including prevention, and setting out the characteristics of high-quality care for children, including those with disabilities
- Provides practical tools for care reform implementation, monitoring and sustainability
White Paper: The Role of Small-Scale Residential Care for Children in the Transition from Institutional to Community-Based Care and in the Continuum of Care in Europe And Central Asia Region
UNICEF (2020)
This white paper summarizes evidence on the current use and impact of small-scale residential care and offers guidance on how to enable all children to grow up in a loving and stable family environment. It aims to promote better decision-making among policy-makers, local governments, and NGOs.
White Paper: Strengthening Inclusion Strategies for Children with Disabilities within the Context of Care Reform
Burchell, G. (2021)
This white paper addresses the "silo mentality" in development; how services for typical children are planned and implemented without including the needs of children with disabilities from the first planning step. Strategies are proposed that can help to bridge this gap.