Journey of Transition Toolkit

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Conducting Organizational Assessments

To plan the way forward, it’s important to have a clear picture of the organization’s starting point. This assessment is critical to understand the unique variables that the organization must navigate.

The aim of this step is to conduct baseline assessments which will determine how adequate the existing structures, systems, policies, procedures, staffing and resources are to support a safe transition.

Assessments or reviews help identify the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and where risk and tension might stem from. They also assist in understanding what organizational strengthening activities may need to be factored into the strategy to safely proceed with transition.

Finally, these reviews will help organizations determine what the most appropriate end goal is; helping inform decisions about what services they are well placed to run after the transition.

Organizational Governance and Accountability Checklist Helps determine whether an organization providing residential care services and their principal donor have sufficient governance and accountability structures in place to mitigate, manage and address risks or issues that may arise in the course of transition. (Better Care Network)

Child Safeguarding Self-assessment Tool Assesses an organization’s child safeguarding policy’s strengths and weaknesses. This tool consists of five sections and takes about 30 minutes to complete. (Keeping Children Safe)

Kinnected Orphanage Checklist Provides a checklist to determine whether an orphanage is operating legally and following best practice, including ensuring that the orphanage is legitimately a last resort option for children and is not actively recruiting children and separating families unnecessarily. (ACCI Relief)

Partnership Due Diligence Assessment Tool Helps organizations partnering with residential care facilities to determine whether their partner or prospective partner is operating in accordance with standard notions of good practice and international norms (Rethink Orphanages).

Transitioning Models of Care Assessment Tool Focuses on the dynamics between the director of the residential facility and the principal donor. Results will help define areas of potential challenges regarding power dynamics for transition. (Better Care Network and Kinnected)

Stakeholder analysis Helps an organization list the key stakeholders of the transition, their roles, and how the transition will affect them. Organizations take an empathetic approach as they consider what motivates a stakeholder’s involvement, how they might feel about the transition, and then consider what engagement and messaging will be important to each. (Faith to Action)

Residential care service review (no tool available) Reviewing the policies and actual practices of the residential care services being provided will help the degree to which elements that enable transition, or more specifically reintegration of children in family-based care, are already in place or need to be developed and factored into the strategic plan. This may include assessing policies and practices for: Collecting and maintaining case files and children’s documentation; Gatekeeping (assessment and best interest decision making on admission, reintegration and exiting care); Social work and practice standards for caring for children, including care planning and reintegration; Family connection and relationship; Life skills and other training and preparation for reintegration into community; Human resources/staffing (qualifications, expertise, training, oversight).

Organizational capacity assessment/evaluation These tools can help determine where increased internal capacity (new staff) or external support (consultants/technical partners) might be required to support the transition, and what post transition services you are well placed to offer.

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