Journey of Transition Toolkit

Toolkit Home | Preparing | Building Partnerships to Strengthen Families

Building Partnerships to Strengthen Families

A successful transition to family care requires that children and families have access to a range of support services that address their needs. The transitioning organization does not need to provide all the services but can partner with others (such as government, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, community groups, and churches) to ensure that children in families have the resources they need to thrive.

Working in partnership with others ensures that a full range of services (e.g., economic, educational, psychological, and special needs) are in place to strengthen and support families and prevent future placement of children into residential care.

Broad Scale Collaboration Provides a roadmap for broadscale collaboration and intervention as a way for the global community to engage with children in a thoughtful and effective way. (World Without Orphans)

Training Manual: Finding Community-Based Protection Solutions Assists in building key competencies in community engagement, including building awareness of community structures and identifying community resources, and methods of community mobilization. (Save the Children)

Partnerships: Frameworks for Working Together Features resources for faith- and community-based organizations, including an online organizational assessment tool and one for community assessment. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Provides useful tools for individuals and organizations seeking to mobilize and strengthen community-led care for orphans and vulnerable children. (World Vision International)

Strong Communities for Strong Families: How Strong Social Networks Support Children and Their Families in Sub-Saharan Africa Presents research and analysis on the “how to” aspects of helping communities find their own power through strengthening their strong social support networks, as well as describes dozens of “promising practices” stories.(SOS Children’s Villages International)

Child Protection Advocacy: Effective Interventions for Strengthening the Child Protection System at the Local Level Describes World Vision’s Child Protection Advocacy approach and how to use it, including working with community partners, developing messages, and assessing advocacy efforts. (World Vision International)

Twinning in the Best Interest of Children: Promoting Family Life, not Orphanages Features information on partnering with churches in Haiti to promote family care, including ideas for alternative service support/projects. (Catholic Relief Services)

Connecting the Dots: A Child Protection Model from Malawi Documents how a child protection model from Malawi works as part of the Integrated (HIV Effect) Mitigation and Positive Action for Community Transformation (IMPACT) program. (Catholic Relief Services)

Government

Governments have a responsibility to develop policies and support services that protect children. A growing number of countries around the world have instituted or enhanced their child protection systems and related policies in recent years. However, even when policies are in place, capacity and implementation at the local level can vary significantly. In many contexts, nongovernmental and community-based organizations serving children and families help to address the gaps. For these reasons, understanding both national policy as it relates to children and the reality with respect to implementation are important to an informed transition plan.

Partnering with the government ensures that a transition is in compliance with national policies and laws, and can help to strengthen implementation at the local level by involving government officials in training opportunities, making decisions, raising awareness, and sharing information. Government agencies may also offer coordinating structures (“working groups” or “forums”) where stakeholders focused on child protection issues gather for sharing information and making decisions.

Non-governmental Organizations

A sound transition requires child and family services that address and help prevent the causes of family separation. Nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit agencies, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations often play key roles in helping families access existing government services as well as providing a range of services to meet educational, health, economic, and other needs vital to child and family well-being. Partnering with these groups to ensure that families and children have access to the resources they need lays the groundwork for successful and lasting placement in families.

Local Churches

Local churches and their ministries are well positioned to identify and respond to children and families in greatest need and can play a unique and transformative role in supporting the transition process. They offer some of the most extensive, best-organized, and viable networks of community organizations ministering to the spiritual, emotional, and material needs of children and families.

Pastors, ministry leaders, and church members are in a tremendous position of responsibility and opportunity to inspire and mobilize their fellow church members and local communities to greater awareness and action on behalf of children and families. Engaging the local church and community members throughout transition contributes to a welcoming and supportive context for children integrating into families and communities. Local churches can also serve as partners in recruiting and supporting families interested in serving as foster or adoptive parents.

Community Members

Community members can offer opportunities to create or recreate bonds with friends, family, church, and school. They can also serve in formal roles as members of community child protection, child rights, or gatekeeping committees. They can also serve informally in a “watchdog” capacity through raising awareness about child protection and reporting cases of abuse and neglect through the appropriate authorities. The transition process can become an opportunity to strengthen community engagement by supporting new or existing community networks for child protection, providing training in assets-based community development, and helping develop community-level family services.

Back

Next