The right of the child to a family in the context of the UN and EU policies Dr (habil) Maria Herczog, Ph.D. Senior Technical Advisor, BCN President of Eurochild Former member of the UNCRC Committeee 15 January, 2016, Sofia, Bulgaria

Children deprived of family life Still millions of children are deprived of family care worldwide, many of them living in institutions, orphanages, often not regulated, licensed, supervised Hundreds of thousands of children living in institutions even in Europe, separated from their families, very few orphans, mostly due to poverty, disability, belonging to ethnic minority, prejudice, lack of proper policies, practices, conflicts of interest European commitments: UN Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children, 2009 Moving Forward Handbook on Implementation, 2014 Tracking Tool to measure the achievements and further obligations of the State, 2016 Common European Guidelines on the Transition from Institutional to Community-based Care, 2012 Council of Europe recommendations,

Overarching guiding principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - All children have rights Right to life and development Right to non-discrimination Right to protection from all forms of violence Best interests of the child is the main consideration in all matters affecting them Child participation, right to be heard and listened to in all matters affecting them

Changing lenses Right of the child to be brought up in a family – should serve as a common ground and approach, state must support families and children, (UN CRC) Challenging and multifaceted changes of welfare and protection needs and responses – poverty, deprivation, segregation, discrimination, differences within the social groups are growing, distance between opportunities and access is widening Decreasing birth rate, ageing population – still not sufficiant support to children born – but not all children born have got rights to quality life Social, economic transition and its impact during the last 25 years – expectations and realities in a new world

It takes a village to raise a child Clear understanding and acceptance of the roles and responsibilities of parents, families, communities, state in ensuring the optimum development and well-being of children Children are human beings born with human rights, entitled to the care and protection of the adults We do not born as competent persons, parents – we all need guidance, support, co-operation, understanding

UN Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children, 2009 “The family being the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth, well-being and protection of children, efforts should primarily be directed to enabling the child to remain in or return to the care of his/her parents, or when appropriate, other close family members. The State should ensure that families have access to forms of support in the caregiving role. “ “In applying the present Guidelines, determination of the best interests of the child shall be designed to identify courses of action for children deprived of parental care, or at risk of being so, that are best suited to satisfying their needs and rights, taking into account the full and personal development of their rights in their family, social and cultural environment and their status as subjects of rights, both at the time of the determination and in the longer term. “

EU Framework Common European Guidelines on the Transition from Institutional to Community- based Care Guidance on implementing and supporting a sustained transition from institutional care to family-based and community-based alternatives for children, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health problems and older persons in Europe The use of EU funding should be driven by this Guideline and be transparent, monitored, evaluated

EU expert group on de- institutionalisation

Opening Doors Campaign Opening Doors campaign calls on national governments to fulfill their responsibility to support families and provide quality alternative care for children. By showcasing positive practice developed by NGOs across Europe the campaign hopes to support governments in this process. It also calls on the European Union (EU) to keep DI high on the political agenda and support progress at national level Ending institutional care for children in Europe is possible and within reach – putting the best interests of children back at the heart of Europe’s child protection systems In the Recommendation ‘Investing in children, breaking the cycle of disadvantage’, in February 2014, the European Commission explicitly calls on member states to "stop the expansion of institutional care settings for children without parental care; and promote quality, community-based care and foster care within family settings instead, where children’s voice is given due consideration”

Opening Doors We work in partnership with organisations at national level to ensure that EU policy guidance and funding tools are used effectively to deliver the best outcomes for children and families. Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine participating New partners from 2016: Austria, France, Slovakia, Spain…. New alliance forming with additional partners – IFCO, FICE, SOS Children’s Villages

Opening Doors Campaign Challenges: Commitment of the governments to implement a comprehensive rights, family and community based strategy Closing institutions is not the first and last step to be taken, it is a complex procedure Family strengthening first, development of local services, re-integrating children Providing high quality, stable kinship and foster care needs investment in all means Austerity, economic crisis and difficulties concerning political commitment Alternative, family, community based care is not cheaper but better, child rights based and more effective Main issues do not differ in different countries: minority children (Roma), disabled children, older children with complex needs highly overrepresented 60-70%, poverty, limited or no service provision locally, quality of care is law, outcomes are poor Lack of co-operation between stake holders, sectors, conflict of interest, no overarching, inter-sectorial strategy, communication and implementation plan, lack of proper supervision, follow up and monitoring., outcome evaluation, measurement

Social Return on Investment in Children A 2 years modeling program: Developing a universally adaptable framework to measure, calculate and demonstrate the case for investing in deinstitutionalisation of children, Developing case studies in at least two European countries Raising awareness amongst governments/policy makers/donors of the direct and indirect costs and benefits of investing in children, on deinstitutionalisation Expected outcomes: -Models developed for governments to encourage calculate all related direct and indirect costs, benefits, return of all kind of interventions, outcomes and making comparisons -Advocacy tool to demonstrate the advantages of a rights, family and, community based approach, the long term benefits, returns at all level, individual, family and community, state levels -Ending institutionalisation of children, informing politicians, policy makers, donors and the public about the price in all means children and we all pay for inappropriate decisions made on their separation from family and placements

The way forward for Bulgaria Discussions, debates and commitments on the implementation of the international conventions, recommendations, frameworks, guidelines Bulgaria is affiliated with – at all levels with all type of actors and groups Awareness raising, campaigns, advocacy to engage all groups of the society, sharing information Implementation of the national strategy: „Vision for the deinstitutionalisation of the children in Republic of Bulgaria” with the help and involvement of all stakeholders

Thank you for your attention!