Responsibly reintegrate when in child’s best interest
Evaluate and strategize for your caseload
Stop the spread while protecting yourself and others
Manage cases and provide support in a changing time
Plan for the future in a post COVID-19 world
COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that makes large group settings a risk for spreading the disease from one person to another. Due to this, some governments have mandated children in residential settings to be reintegrated into family care. In other countries, some organizations are electing to reintegrate when it is safe and in the child’s best interest. Reintegration should be determined case-by-case, but some communities are being subjected to large scale reintegrations that poses risks for children.
Due to the pandemic, efforts should be made to expedite family tracing to find and place children quickly, yet responsibly. This is a critical first step to determine if a reintegration right now is in the child’s best interest. This is the starting point for any reintegration. Click on this FAQ to learn who needs to be involved and to get an overview of the entire family tracing process.
For however many children that are remaining at a residential care facility, limiting community spread is still imperative. Though children in congregate care are at a higher risk of infection, there are still ways to reduce the chance of contagion.
Depending on how urgent a family’s situation might be, your staff should plan to be in contact with the family 4-7 days a week. Calls should be varied between connecting with children directly (if they are at an age of effective phone conversation) and their caregivers. To learn more about contacting families, visit this FAQ page.
In collaboration with our regional partners, we have developed an online training platform and resource to show how you can safely reintegrate children into families. You can enroll for free by clicking on this link: JOURNEYHOME.
This question requires discernment and for each organization to determine for themselves according to their mission and organizational model. Cash transfers to vulnerable families carry some risk that should be considered before executing. We all want the best for the children and money to the parents may help or hurt depending on the situation and the organization. If you are thinking about giving direct money, click the FAQ to read a couple considerations.
Watch the video to learn an on-the-ground perspective of the pandemic and how RAPID can enhance your support of vulnerable children and families at this time.
We build capacity of regional leaders experienced in reunification work. With the help of 1MILLIONHOME, these key leaders are helping more children return home – equipping orphanage directors with resources and support, implementing best practices, and generating leads of orphanages wanting to transition to family-based care.
1MILLIONHOME is grateful for opportunities to collaborate with the following regional leaders of reintegration work: