CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS IN FORMAL CARE IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES THE BIG PICTURE IN THE REGION Presentation by Jean-Claude Legrand Senior Regional Advisor Child Protection UNICEF Regional Office CEE-CIS

Separation: More children continue to be separated from their families. Children below three are, in general, at higher risk of family separation than older children Probability of losing parental care for children 0-2 and children 0-17 in 2009 (number of cases per 100,000 children of relevant age) NB: data for other CEE/CIS countries were not available through TransMonEE.

Numbers: The « positive » overall decrease of the rate of institutionalisation of children 0-3 hides « negative » country specificities A look at todays numbers Proportion of children 0- 3 in institutions by location (as of 2012)

Rates: Rate of children 0-3 in residential care in 2000 and 2009 (by country and by sub-region)

Trends: A look at the trends in rates

Percentages: A look at the percentages of children 0-3 among children 0-17 in institutions NB: 22,2% is the average percentage of children 0-3 among children 0-17 (if we consider that all age groups are equal – it is therefore an approximation.

Access to services: There is too little use of foster care for children 0-3 Percentage of CEE/CIS countries with foster care for children 0-3 (as of 2012)

The rights of children 0-3 are violated and unrealized when they are placed in institutions Rights of children 0-3 Impairments linked to institutionalisation Survival and Development Rights Right to develop to ones fullest potential Right to health Rights to adequate food Right to protection of a family life Right to leisure and recreation.

Rights of children 0-3 Impairments linked to institutionalisation Protection Rights Freedom from discrimination Protection from abuse and neglect Protection from sale, trafficking and abduction

Rights of children 0-3 Impairments linked to institutionalisation Participation Rights Respect for the views and feelings of the young child Right to a private life The right to a personal history CEE/CIS States have an obligation to Respect, Protect and Fulfil the rights of children 0-3 contained in the CRC

1) An equity issue … Source: EU Daphné Programme (2004) Western Europe Vs. Central and Eastern Europe…

Specialists Vs. Mothers… a case study from the Karaganda oblast, Kazakhstan (2011)

The profile of a mother who is forced to abandon a child … aged about 25, with more than 3 children, illiterate or without completed education, unemployed before the birth of the abandoned child, with about BGN 85 monthly income per household member, with Roma ethnic identity (54.7%), living in a village or in a small town, the father is unknown or reluctant to recognize the child. UNICEF Bulgaria (2010)

-Unity and stability of the family: -. -Age of the mother: -Size of the family: -Health of parents and children: -Disability of the parents or the child: -Low level of education of the parents -Parental abuse and neglect (lack of statistics) -Financial issues: Any factor, including financial issues is sufficient to lead to institutionalization but set the stage for conditions by which other elements can lead to institutionalization. P ERSONAL AND F AMILY FACTORS

Societal factors: -Socialism inheritance: Professionals/State know best; defectology tradition; -Stigmatisation of children with disabilities -Vulnerable groups deprived of adequate support -Migration of parents -Abandonment and relinquishment as loving choices (parents offering a better future); Institutional factors: -Weaknesses within the health sector -Lack of coordination and decentralization of social services: -Lack of legal prohibition of placement of infants in residential institutions -Lack of community-based social services to support parents to take care of their children. M AIN S OCIAL AND I NSTITUTIONAL FACTORS

T HE W AY F ORWARD F OCUSING ON RESULTS

UNICEFs Call to Action: END PLACING CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS IN INSTITUTIONS 1.Legislative changes limiting to last resort, and setting strict conditions for, the placement into institutional care of children below three years; 2.Allocation of resources giving priority to the development of appropriate local services allowing alternative solutions for children below three with special attention to the needs of children with disabilities; 3.Proper budget allocation for supporting vulnerable families through the development of appropriate family-based responses and services; 4.Capacity-building and standards of practice for maternity ward and paediatric hospital staff to support parents of newborns with a disability and parents from most vulnerable groups, in order to discourage institutionalisation; 5.Partnership with media and civil society to promote social inclusion of children deprived of parental care and children with disabilities. The 5 core interventions:

Helping governments … -Establish a monitoring system of abandonment and relinquishment from maternity hospitals -Establish patronage nurses and home-visitation -Improve interaction between social welfare services and health services -Encourage early mother-to-child relationship -Improve health and social care professionals training -Establishment of standards of practice Communic ations Romania and Azerbaijan

Helping society …. -Help the general public to be aware of childrens rights and the risks of institutionalisation for children below three years -Help families to understand more social services available -Help the public understand the foster care system -Help people understand discrimination (children of Roma origin and children with disabilities) Every Child Needs a Family campaign (Croatia)