Exploring an Alternative Approach to Improve the Lives of Children in Public Care in Ghana
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The document discusses the challenges and debates surrounding institutional child care as an alternative arrangement, emphasizing the differences between the developed North and developing South. It highlights a rising trend of institutional care in Ghana, particularly private homes, and advocates for internal reforms that harness institutional capital to improve children’s lives. The need for collaboration between experts from both regions to create locally informed policies is also emphasized.
Exploring an Alternative Approach to Improve the Lives of Children in Public Care in Ghana
- 2. : Institutional child care as an alternative care arrangement for children is under attack Global debate about the effectiveness of institutional child care • The ‘last resort argument’ • Last resort argument’ points to challenges and problems of child care in general 2
- 3. • However differences exist in the environment of global village of the rich developed north and poor developing south • This differences also affect institutional child care as alternative care arrangement being 3
- 4. Varying definitions all of which however include the following three dimensions: • Adult caregivers provide support services and resources to address vulnerability and risk of children - abuse and neglect • address levels of (absolute) deprivation deemed unacceptable – food, clothing, shelter, health, water • form of intervention which is both social-(cultural) and public in character and acceptable 4
- 5. Social – Demography Economic Cultural Political Policies / Programs for Children 5
- 6. ◦ Reform highly focussed on institutional child care and less on fostering and adoption ◦ Suggesting a freeze on establishing new institutional child care in the face deepening poverty of families ◦ Nonetheless, institutional care is rising in Ghana especially private children homes 6
- 7. • How could we reform institutional care from inside, rather than outside? • Search for new thinking or theoretical /conceptual models in the face of institutional care challenges • This calls for exploring resources in public children homes that could be invested to yield returns • Institutional capital is argued here as invaluable resource with high investment potentials to yield returns in the lives of the children in care 7
- 8. • Starter - Salazer (1997; 2001; 2004; 2010) definition of institutional capital • Linking Institutional Capital to Social Capital • ‘Institutional Agents and Actors ’ are vital institutional capital • Who Are Institutional Agents / Actors? 8
- 9. • Mainly employed qualitative research methods and data collection techniques • Key informant interviews with purposely selected 6 adult caregivers • Child drawings and generating informal conversations with purposively selected 12 children in care about their drawings 9
- 10. Harsh economic conditions - Low subventions from the Government -Difficult for adult caregivers to purchase formal services to meet the needs of children Use of social capital by institutional agents to provide support services for children to meet some of their basic needs like nutritious food, clothing, educational materials, computer games 10
- 11. Complementing global initiatives with local realities to manage children issues Reformulating and refining of child care policy in poor developing countries be based on local knowledge and reflect local context Need to build partnerships among child experts / consultants from the rich developed north and poor developing south 11
- 12. In the Ghanaian institutional child care context, care responsibilities should evolved from caregivers as they possess capital that is beneficial to improve the lives of children However, as capital could be exploitative and abusive, social capital of institutional agents needs to be managed carefully Collective Care Responsibilities of Children at All Levels of Society -All Hands on Deck 12