Transcript Child Rights Department’s role in ensuring development of gate-keeping and referral system SECOND CHILD PROTECTION FORUM: “Building and Reforming Child Care Systems in.

Child Rights Department’s role in ensuring
development of gate-keeping and referral system
SECOND CHILD PROTECTION FORUM:
“Building and Reforming Child Care Systems in Central Asia”
Mrs. Zuhra Madaminjanova, Head of Board in the Strategic Research Centre of
the President and member of the Commission on Child Rights under the
Government of the Republic of Tajikistan
Bishkek 2009
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History of the Department
Beginning in 2004 the Government of Tajikistan in cooperation with UNICEF
established five local pilot Child Rights Departments which have since expanded to
nine districts;
The CRD took over the functions of the former local Commissions on Minors and in
some locations perform the functions of the Guardianship Authorities;
The CRDs initially focused on promoting the process of deinstitutionalization of
children (social orphans) who were being returned to their families and the
community from eight residential institutions;
The CRDs also worked as gatekeepers for preventing and regulating future
placement of children into institutions;
On August 1, 2008 the Government Decree #377 mandated the creation of a CRD
in each of the 66 districts throughout the country in the course of three years;
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Progress of the establishment
 Preliminary, the overall goal of establishing Child Rights Department in 2004
was to promote the process of de-institutionalization of children in Tajikistan
and to contribute to the creation of alternative care programmes in a family
environment;
 The development of the new child protection has called for a need for
systemic reform of the child protection system both at local and national
levels;
 It has also showed that it is possible to change entrenched attitudes towards
child protection and child care at local level;
 At project level, the major achievements of the CRDs are:
an understanding that the child needs to grow up in a family environment
wherever possible and that institutionalisation should be a remedy of last resort
the introduction of current notions of good social work practice, including
investigation, assessment and care planning (trained institutional staff)
training social workers to work with and maintain the family unit
de-institutionalisation of significant numbers of children
effective gate-keeping preventing children who are not in need of child
protection services from entering the institutions
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Organizational Structure
CHILD RIGHTS
DEPARTMENTS
COM/Guardianship Authority
NO FURTHER
ACTION
PRELIMINARY
INVESTIGATION
FULL
ASSESSMENT
Referral to community
services (NGO or
statutory organs)
Referral to community
services (NGO or
statutory organs)
REMOVE
CHILDREN
FROM PARENTS
EXTENDED
FAMILY
ALTERNATIVE
FAMILY
PLACEMENT IN
INSTITUTION
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Specific Functions of CRD
Needs Assessment: Family and child assessments occur for children living in
families who are at risk, identification of children with mental and physical
disabilities to refer them for disability benefits; children who are at risk of out-ofhome placement in residential institutions or in families;
Response to Vulnerability: The staff of the CRDs provides information,
referral and other assistance to vulnerable children and their families. This
assistance includes counselling, identifying and helping secure benefits to which
children and families are entitled, and referring the children and families to various
governmental and non-governmental programs;
Gate-keeping: The CRDs review the applications for placement of children in
residential care institutions or find alternative solutions which include providing or
arranging for assistance so that children can live safely within their families, or
arranging for alternative community placements such as guardianship;
Monitor the status of children: The CRDs monitor the status of children who
have been reintegrated into families from boarding schools and also monitor the
status of children who have been placed into guardianship;
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Operational Model (Functions)
Staffing: Staffing level varies based on the population number in districts but the
proposed CRD office will have a chair and two other staff. It is the started option
that staff from existing Social Assistance at Home Units of Social Protection
departments proceed social work related home visits to compile information for
decision making process;
Funding: Each local CRD operates under, and is funded by, the local Authorities.
The salaries of the core staff of the CRDs are paid by the local government and so
far UNICEF provides supplements to cover operational expenses and provides
other types of assistance such as computers and office supplies;
Impact: According to an evaluation of the deinstitutionalization process in
Tajikistan, “the CRDs have had a significant impact on the numbers of children
being referred to institutions and on the number of the requests for placements
being made. The CRDs streamlined a cumbersome, inefficient and ineffective
system of placing children in institutions. In most cases children seem to have
received appropriate and detailed assessments by the CRDs and social workers.”
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Remaining Constraints

Prior to the establishment of Child Rights Departments in the pilot districts, the existence
of staff specifically trained to work in child welfare and protection with the skills of
modern social work did not exist in the country;

Building the capacity of staff that is able to develop community-based services to meet
children’s needs takes longer than anticipated, especially in view of the demands placed
on the staff;

Staff of the Child Rights Departments/UNITS need further exposure to innovative,
creative, low cost yet effective child protection services that could be adapted to meet
the needs of children in the country;

Fragmentation of the system complicates the movement of the Guardianship organs from
the Education sector to the CRD which has placement under the local governance;

Lack of coordination to link the CRD decisions on referral based on the social work
activities of the Social Assistance at Home Units which has unqualified staff to provide
certain services for targeted groups;

The failures of economy and shortage of skills in public expenditure policy development
consequence low government’s salary scale which adds burdens to unskilled staff
affecting the welfare of children in need of care and protection measures
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Child Protection Model Scheme
Information
on the risk
Gate keeping
CRD
Рек. на устройство
Social Assistance at
Home Units of the
SOBES
Initial
assessment
Collective
Recommendations
and decisions for
the services
sentence
- Instructions to statutory
organs/departments
- Mobilization of local NGOs
- Monitoring of family situation
- Review of case management
provision of
Передача случая
Request for
Servicesг
Successful work
Deprivation of
parental rights
Adoption
Court
Proposal for
process of
deprivation and
adoption
Commission on Child
Rights at district
Specialized
Social worker
of the Units
Referral to
Guardianship
or
institutional
care
Social workers for
conclusions
Comprehensive assessment
Realization and follow up of
the individual plan
Child Individual Plan
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