WEBVTT

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How is the informal care
defined under the UN Guidelines

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for the Alternative
Care of Children?

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So I am going to read
from the UN Guidelines

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for the Alternative
Care of Children.

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Informal care is defined as any
private arrangement provided

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in a family environment,
whereby, the child is looked

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after on an ongoing
or indefinite basis

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by relatives or friends, that
is informal kinship care.

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Or by others in their individual
capacity at the initiative

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of the child, his
or her parents,

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or other person without this
arrangement having been ordered

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by an administrative
or judicial authority

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or by a duly accredited body.

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That's a long definition.

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What are the rights of
children in informal care?

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Well, children in
informal care really

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have all those same
rights as other children.

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Foremost, the right to be
raised in a family environment

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and, presumably, they are
in a family environment.

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However, sometimes we
find through research

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that they don't fully
enjoy the same rights

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as children in parental care.

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In fact, there is
very little research

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that tells us the whole
story, but here are

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some bits and pieces
that I can tell you,

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based on the evidence.

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Children in informal
care are less

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likely to be registered for
birth, which as we all know

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is the gateway towards
many other rights.

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They're less likely
to be enrolled

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for school or attending school.

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This is well borne
out by research.

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We also know that their
inheritance rights

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are compromised, in
most cases, because they

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don't have legal standing
with their guardians

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with whom they live.

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They may also experience
increased abuse, neglect,

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or even exploitation
because they also don't

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have the full family status.

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And they may have less access
to nutrition, health care,

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and other needed services.

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And some research
even shows that they

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may be required to work more in
the households in which they're

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growing up.

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In fact, there is
emerging evidence

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that shows that many of the
children in these families

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are, in fact, being treated
not as one of the children,

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but as a domestic servant.

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So this is very troubling
evidence that is emerging.

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What are some suggestions
for improving the well-being

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of children in informal care?

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First of all, we probably
need to address prevention.

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We need to strengthen families
so that we can prevent children

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from being separated
from their families.

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In the case of children who
have lost their parents,

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we need to really focus
on them and make sure

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that there is a
proper gatekeeping

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to place them with
caring families,

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whether they're kin
or other families.

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I think intervention at that
level is very important.

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So having said that, I
think at the policy level,

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governments really need to
address these informally

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placed children in the
policies so that they are less

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invisible, so that they
come to the forefront,

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so that their needs can
be assessed and addressed,

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and families and communities
can take responsibility

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for these children.

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So I think at that policy
level, it's very important.

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I think also, there
should be special outreach

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to these children, individually,
for birth registration,

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ensuring that they're
attending school,

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ensuring that their
needs are met,

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that their
immunizations are done,

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they are getting health
services, and all of that.

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And whether that's done
through community mechanisms

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or government
mechanisms, I think

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there needs to be
leadership to organise

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that kind of an effort.

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I think also, because we realise
that these children have been

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separated from their families,
there needs to be psychosocial

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support because they are
suffering from loss and grief,

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in many cases.

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We need to acknowledge
that, and we need

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to address those needs as well.

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And, furthermore, we need
to learn more about them.

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We desperately need
research to find out

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more about their
circumstances, their needs,

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how to approach helping them.

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Is there a need for a specific
package of intervention

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for children in informal care or
would a well-functioning child

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protection system for all
children be more beneficial?

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I am not a fan of dividing
vulnerable children into silos.

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I think we have criteria by
which we define vulnerability.

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And I think that
children in informal care

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could be under very
good circumstances

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and they're not really at
risk, while others are even

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under parental care.

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So I think a very good
comprehensive child protection

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system is probably
the way to go.

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