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- HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Social Sciences, 2020, Volume 64, Issue 4D, pp. 78-85 This paper is available online at http://stdb.hnue.edu.vn SEVERAL TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE CARE AT HOME FOR CHILDREN IN ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES IN VIETNAM AT PRESENT Pham Thi Thanh Thuy and Hoang Thi Hai Yen Faculty of Social Work, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. This analysis discusses about the family-based alternative care in the community for Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances (“CEDC”). Family-based alternative care is a type of social welfare that brings the CEDC or those who are at risk of losing the care from their birth parents into a temporarily stable family while waiting for a permanently stable family which might be their birth family or an adoptive family. Family- based alternative care has many advantages in comparison with the method of entrusting children into social protection facilities. The children participating in this model will be nurtured, cared and educated in a friendly and immediate living environment, which will minimize risks and unsafety so that children would be given with psychological stability, health care, education, happiness and intellectual development. In addition, this analysis also discusses about the supporting and connecting roles of local Social Workers in the community on implementing and attracting the attention and participation of families as well as establishing and building a team of managerial officials, individuals and adoptive families having skills and knowledge on taking care of the CEDC. Keywords: alternative care, family, children in especially difficult circumstances. 1. Introduction Vietnam currently has about 26.3 million children under the age of 16, of which the total number of children in especially difficult circumstances (based on classification of 14 groups of children under the Law on Children) would take 5.43% of the total child population. There are about 160,000 orphans, abandoned children, homeless children and over 22,000 children being cared for in foster facilities (according to the report issued by the Department of Children of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2018) 1. Our nation has been implementing many forms and models of assistance for the CEDC. These models may be undertaken by the State under sponsor centers, organizations supervised by the State or the community-based organizations. Such models may be also built and maintained by individuals and organizations in the community. While the models of assistance for the CEDC established by the State are legally grounded by the legal documents which provides functions, tasks, powers, regulated entities and funding, etc., community-based assistance models may not have clear legal grounds. There are also differences between support models in every community. The Communist Party and the State generally encourage the socialization of the assistance to the CEDC. Community-based support models would keep the connection between children Received April 11, 2020. Revised April 24, 2020. Accepted May 15, 2020. Contact Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, e-mail address: thanhthuyuno8909@gmail.com 78
- Several types of alternative care at home for children in especially difficult circumtances… and the community, ensuring the children’s spiritual life, emotional life and the development of their social relationships. This said the models of assistance for the CEDC are very diverse. Each model would have distinctions depending on each community. There are many support models created and developed by people in the community. The formation of such models may not be clearly guided by a specific legal document and regulatory procedures. It has created a variety of support models but the models would be inconsistent causing a difficulty for management. With the diversity of support models in the community for the CEDC, we would have measures to divide the support models into groups. Depending on the identified criteria, the support models would be classified into different groups. The classification discussed in this analysis is relative and the models addressed herein are only for illustration purpose. This analysis would focus on the support models for the CEDC. In this regard, there are several models which may apply to 14 groups of the CEDC as stipulated in the Law on Children 2016 (for example, adoption, protection, etc.) 2. There are also certain models that may only apply to a specific object (for example, rehabilitation model for disabled children at home). Although the impact/target object within this analysis is only one of 14 groups of children stipulated in the Law on Children, this analysis would still discuss about different support models with an intention to provide a multi-dimensional perspective on different models for purpose of expanding the applicable scope of such models to the remaining objects/group of children among such 14 groups of the CEDC. One of the community-based models of assistance for the CEDC is a home-based support model that is implemented with specific alternative care forms. The model of alternative care at home is stipulated in the Law on Children 2016 for 04 groups of children as follows: 1) double orphans, abandoned children, homeless children; 2) children who cannot live with their natural parents for protecting children’s safety; children whose parents are unable to protect or nurture them or are child abusers; 3) The protection of children who are affected by natural disasters and calamities or aimed conflict is prioritized; 4) Refugee children whose parents are not yet identified. (Law on Children 2016, Chapter IV, Section 3, Article 62) 2. When the birth parents of the CEDC do not want or cannot take care of and perform the function of raising their children in the community, there is an alternative care at home to continue nurturing and educating them. This model includes the following forms: Foster care, Kinship care, Adoption, and Guardianship. However, each form will be different in relation to the legal relations (rights, obligations, and responsibilities for the child), and the organisation and arrangement of the care and nurturing period. Alternative foster care at home is a type of social welfare to bring the CEDC or those who are at risk of losing the care from their birth parents into a temporarily stable family while waiting for a permanently stable family, which might be their birth family or an adoptive family. 2. Content In the model of the alternative foster care at home, there are many types of nurturing, namely: Kinship care, Foster care, Adoption, and Legal Guardianship. There are different principles, procedures and execution in each type of nurturing. 2.1. Types and procedures of the alternative care model at home 2.2.1. Kinship care (the alternative care by the relative) Under this model, the child adopter is a blood relative, a relative or a relative of the child’s family. In particular, the child’s family will arrange and select the place of trust to send the 79
- Pham Thi Thanh Thuy and Hoang Thi Hai Yen child. The adoptive family does not have to undergo the selection, evaluation and supervision of the competent authorities or through the regular procedures. Children can be raised by a relative for a short or long term depending on the circumstances, needs, and agreement between the biological parents and the adopting person. In this case, the child maintains a relationship with the parents and the biological family, so the parent or the biological family must be legally responsible for the child. For children who are cared for by relatives, they still receive financial support according to the regulations of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. The type of nurturing by relatives would be carried out when: 1) performing responsibilities and obligations to protect the children of the ancestry when the parents are not able or no longer able to raise the children; 2) informal adoption, i.e. letting the child be adopted under an agreement between both parties without the formal adoption registration process; 3) sending children to grandparents or family members to take care of them when their parents are sick or incapable of civil acts, working far away, or serving sentences, re-education, detoxification, etc. When relatives raise their children and grandchildren, there is usually no specific process or strict procedures as other forms of nurturing and care. For this, the child’s family will arrange and choose the private place to trust and send them. The foster family does not undergo a selection, evaluation and supervision by the authorities or through formal legal procedures. Therefore, in this type, the choice of a place of trust for raising children is due to the family's arrangement for their children without having to examine through the authorities. 3. 2.2.2. Foster care This is a form in which the child caregiver is not related by blood or is not familiar with the child’s family. Families adopting according to this type are recruited, evaluated, trained in knowledge and skills and closely monitored by the functional agencies. Children will live with their caregivers for a specified period of time, usually a few months to two years, while waiting to arrange for a stable family. In this case, the caregiver is not bound in terms of responsibilities and legal obligations of parents – children, but the legal responsibility for the child will be borne by the parent/birth family/the State. Families adopting children will receive financial support under Decision 647 of the Prime Minister approving the project to care for orphans, abandoned children, HIV/AIDS infected people, etc. in the period from 2013 to 2020. The alternative family will be responsible for handing the child back to a stable and sustainable family at the request of the authorities when a decision is made. This type of nurturing is applied in the following cases: 1) the child's birth family has an incident and is temporarily unable to care for the child (the sick parent needs recovery or is serving a sentence, addiction…); 2) in an emergency situation where the child is abused, lost, abandoned, etc.; 3) foster care before the adoption period; 4) foster care to provide positive care for children with behavioral, psychological, and health problems and need to foster in a special environment. Forms of nurturing for a definite term should be carried out according to the following steps: Step 1. Select and develop a network of families to adopt children for a definite term. Step 2. Submit applications and documents for child adoption with a definite term. Step 3. Assess family registrants for child care for a definite period. Step 4. Issue certification of eligibility to participate in adoption for families. Step 5. Train for families to participate in the program. Step 6. Introduce and send suitable children to foster care in the foster home. The above procedure is carried out according to the specific provisions in Chapter 4, Section 3 on respite care and the guiding documents pursuant to the Law on Children 2016 and is specified in Decree No. 56/2017/ND-CP on detailed guidelines for the Law on Children 2016 4. 80
- Several types of alternative care at home for children in especially difficult circumtances… This type is initially being piloted in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen as phase 1 (starting from November 2017) in the pilot project of an alternative care model for disadvantaged children. The 12-year period of specialization and vulnerability was implemented in 4 phases. However, since such care model in the pilot project is still considered a relatively new form of care in Vietnam, the community has not participated much. The adoption of children is still mainly conducted relatives. The number of other people in the community are not much. Child protection teams at the grassroots level, especially the collaborators and social workers' staff, lack the knowledge and skills on assessing children and their families in alternative care and supervising and evaluating the process of alternative care for children in families. In 2015, the Social Work Center of Thai Nguyen province piloted a model for families and individuals to adopt the CEDC for a definite term with the participation of 10 adopting individuals and families for 10 adopted children in community in Minh Lap, Van Lang, Quang Son and Tan Long communes of Dong Hy district. To implement the model, the Center has organized a survey, making a list of the CEDC, analyzing their aspirations and needs and the capacity of adopting families in the community, building a "fund" of 15 families and individuals who are willing to adopt the CEDC who lose their nurturing and education environment. The foster families and individuals shall meet the conditions, including: having full civil act capacity and well implementing the policies of the Party and laws of the State; voluntarily accepting child care; having stable accommodation and accommodation for children for caring and nurturing the children; satisfying economic conditions and having health and childcare experience; not being a person who is restricted from certain parental rights over minor child or sentenced and not committed a crime as prescribed by law. Along with the selection, the Center handed over the children to adopting families and supported the fostering funds to reduce family difficulties. Every month, the Center organized training to equip the knowledge, life skills and childcare skills for adopted children and families. In 2015, in the course of implementation of the activities under the model, Center staff conducted surveys and interviews with children and families in the pilot model to collect information to synthesize and analyze the content and to identify their problems and lacking knowledge to be equipped. Accordingly, the Center organized 15 training sessions (3 times per month) to equip childcare knowledge and skills with necessary contents such as teaching, home- based childcare, age psychology, and using funds, etc. for adoption family representatives. The Center also organized training sessions to equip children with knowledge and life skills, such as necessary skills to cope with discrimination and stigma, skills to take care of themselves and to identify their positions with family and society and other skills on communication and behavior, etc. In addition, the Center has conducted more than 50 direct consultations for children and caregivers, connecting services to ensure that 10 children can go to school and enjoy full policies and benefits. With a total support budget of 200 million VND for each month, social workers of the Center have visited and closely worked with the children and adoptive families during such period. Following the achieved results in 2015, in 2016 Thai Nguyen Social Work Center continued to maintain the 2015 model in Minh Lap, Van Lang and Tan Long communes (Dong Hy district). Five families participating in the model since 2015 have been supported with additional funding for 3 months (from December 2016 to February 2017). At the same time, the program has expanded the area with 10 CEDC and 10 adopting families and individuals to be selected Kim Son, Kim Phuong and Dinh Bien communes (Dinh Hoa district) from December 2016 to May 2017. Families and children participating in the 2016 model have received 6 months of support. The total funding for the model is VND 200 million. Accordingly, the adopted children and adopting families and individuals are supported with an amount of 81
- Pham Thi Thanh Thuy and Hoang Thi Hai Yen 900,000 VND per month and also receive a support for cloth, study and other living costs for an amount of 900,000 VND / child / year. It can be said that, although it is a new model that has just been piloted in Thai Nguyen province, it has initially achieved remarkable results. Previously, without the support of the model, the life of children was very difficult and uncertain. Their basic needs such as eating, dressing, staying, going to school are not satisfied because their parents are no longer able to work and care them. After being supported by the program, children are guaranteed with a safer living environment, being participated into social activities, being improved with awareness and skills, being able to identify and solve problems for themselves. The program has also mobilized the participation of local authorities, mass organizations and communities to care for the CEDC in the community 1. 2.2.3. Adoption The adopting person and the child formally legally set a legal parent-child relationship - including their rights, responsibilities, and obligations with each other in this type of adoption. Adopting families will be assessed and selected according to the provisions of the Law on Adoption in Vietnam. For this, children will be living with adoptive parents in the long-term. In this case, the adopting family will be fully responsible for the legal, financial issues related to the child and is responsible for all decisions for the child's future path. This form is specified in the Law on Adoption No. 52/2010/QH12, promulgated by the National Assembly on 17 June 2010. In particular, the procedure is divided into two cases for domestic adoption and intercountry adoption. + For domestic adoption: Step 1: Citizens who wish and meet the conditions specified in the Law on Adoption prepare the dossier as prescribed and submit such dossier to the People's Committee of the commune (via the Department on dossier receipt and result release). Step 2: The authority receives, issues receipt decision and examines the dossier. If the application is sufficient, the authority will issue the Transmittal receipt and release the result. If the dossier is incomplete, the authority will guide the citizen to supplement the dossier as prescribed by law. Step 3: Citizens receive results at the Department on dossier receipt and result release under the People's Committee of the commune. Step 4: Carry out the procedures for adopting children according to the regulations. + For intercountry adoption: Step 1: Foreigners who wish and meet the conditions specified in the Law on Adoption prepare the dossier as prescribed and submit such dossier to the People's Committee of the commune (via Department on dossier receipt and result release). Step 2: The authority receives, issues receipt decision and examines the dossier. If the application is sufficient, the authority will issue the Transmittal receipt and release the result. If the dossier is incomplete, the authority will guide the citizen to supplement the dossier as prescribed by law. Step 3: Citizens receive results at the Department on dossier receipt and result release under the People's Committee of the commune. Step 4: Carry out the procedures for adopting children according to the regulations. 5 2.2.4. Legal Guardianship A guardian is a person who is assigned with a task to take legal responsibility and be responsible for the guardianship of the assigned child without depriving the child of his/her birth 82
- Several types of alternative care at home for children in especially difficult circumtances… parents. The guardianship usually applies in the case that child was delivered by an underage mother or the mother is serving a sentence, or losing a civil act capacity, etc. A guardian is the legal representative of the child but the child does not necessarily have to live with them. The guardianship is carried out for a certain time but sometimes for long periods if the birth parent loses his/her civil act capacity or the child is abandoned. The guardian is appointed by the birth father or mother of the child or according to the provisions of the Guardianship right under the Civil Code 2015. The guardianship may be performed in the following cases: 1) Grandfather or grandmother is a legal guardian when the mother of a child was underage; 2) The court appoints a legal guardian when the parents are incapacitated with civil acts (such as mental illness, serving a sentence ...); 3) The social protection facility that cares for the children who are raised there. * Procedures Step 1: The determination of guardians or appointing guardians for children is clearly stated in Articles 61, 63 and 64 of the Civil Code. In particular, the guardian for children is prioritized to identify as father/ mother/ sibling/ grandfather/ grandmother/ maternal grandmother/ uncles/aunts 6. Step 2: In cases where the above persons do not have or are not eligible for guardianship, the commune-level People's Committee at the place of residence of the child shall have to appoint a guardian or request an organization to take the guardianship. Step 3: The appointment of a guardian must be conducted pursuant to the written letter, clearly stating the reason for appointing the guardian, the specific rights and obligations of the guardian, the status of the guardian's property. 7 2.2. The role of the Social Worker in implementing alternative care at home In order to create and develop a network of families to take care of children, Social Workers need to carry out propaganda, improving awareness and understanding of people about this type of adoption as a form of welfare for homeless children; detecting and encouraging eligible individuals and families to participate in the system of adoptive families; organizing activities to encourage, motivate and train potential families. In order to be able to form, maintain and develop a network of families adopting the CEDC, it requires a long-term and persistent effort of all individuals, unions and functional agencies. The roles on selection, shakedown, orientation and training of families adopting the CEDC are now assigned to the Social Work Center in the provinces and districts under the supervision of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, or assigned to a competent authority appointed by the Provincial People's Committee, the City and the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs 8. In order to develop the network of individuals and families who understand and participate in adoption, the Social Workers need to closely coordinate with local agencies and organizations such as the People's Committee, the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs at all levels, the Committee for the Protection and Care of Children, Woman’s Union, local associations, unions, and individuals, etc. to propagate, detect and encourage people to participate the network. Below are certain suggestions on methods and activities that can be conducted to select adoptive families for the CEDC: - Motivating individuals: Meeting and having conversations privately with individuals and families who care about children is a very effective selection method. Social Workers and/or families who are involved in fostering a child may meet and have conversations privately with individuals and families (such as friends, neighbors, relatives, colleagues, etc.) who are interested in adopting children and let them take into consideration of the adoption. Currently, among several residential clusters, when there are a few families participating in adoption, the 83
- Pham Thi Thanh Thuy and Hoang Thi Hai Yen friends and neighbors around them often take into account and also express their desire to participate in adoption. - Directly motivating specific groups: With this method, the Social Workers of the centers, and families who have experience and participation in adoption will meet in groups, associations, unions and the District People's Committee to inform the need to recruit families to adopt children for inclusion in the network of core families to undertake this work. + Organize a forum to discuss models for adopting the CEDC: It is possible to organize forums to have conversations and propagate about models of child adoption for a definite term to introduce this kind of social welfare for children to be known to potential people. In each forum, the following information should be mentioned: The necessity, goals and purposes of the adoption of the CEDC as a form of child welfare; Policies, regimes and criteria for selecting adoptive families; Characteristics of children who need to be nurtured and their family circumstances; Roles and responsibilities of the social centers, relevant state management agencies, organizations and families adopting the CEDC. Through this forum, those who are interested in participating in adoption can understand more about this type of social welfare for children and may be thinking about the decision to adopt children. - General motivation in the community: This method is conducted through: + Use the mass media, forums on local television, magazines, newspapers to publish articles about children who need accommodation, temporary care or promote panels the examples of families who participated in adoption, etc. + Printing and distributing leaflets and brochures introducing this model to the CEDC + In-depth consultation/counseling for individuals and families who are interested and want to learn more about the program before registration: When the potential families attend to raise inquiry about the adoption of the CEDC or ask for instructions on the procedure to register for participation, the Social Workers are responsible for fully and clearly answering questions, concerns, inquiries and giving specific guidance on procedures and steps for registering to participate. This work is very important because if the family's concerns are satisfactorily answered, it will increase the chances of them participating in adoption. During the family training phase, the Social Workers need to focus on encouraging and helping them make the decision to participate in adoption, not to get information to exclude them from participation. The Social Workers should also: + Provide an overview of the types of social benefits that the family wants to provide for the child, including legal basis, goals, program benefits, and nurturing procedures (since the child be sent to the family until the end and sent the child to the authorities); and the principles; + State the criteria for selecting families eligible to participate, the process and procedures for participating, regimes/policies for children and families when they participate, and the roles and the responsibilities of adoptive families providing child care for a limited time, and children in need of care; + Encouraging potential families to ask questions and consider their ability to participate in child adoption; + If the prospective family expressed a wish to participate in the program, it is necessary to provide and guide the family in completing the voluntary registration form as well as completing other related paperwork. 84
- Several types of alternative care at home for children in especially difficult circumtances… 3. Conclusions The alternative care for children is regulated under the Law on Children 2016 and Decree 56/2017/ND-CP issued by the Government. At the same time, this is also one of the important goals in the implementation of child protection, put into operation of the Child Protection System Project in the national target program to develop the assistance system, aiming to ensure that children in special circumstances will live in a family for their best safety and benefit. The alternative care for children in the community helps to diversify the forms of alternative care for children, particularly in families. Family-based alternative care would have many advantages in comparison with the option of sending children into social protection establishments. For this model, there will be a selection and evaluation process to bring families and individuals for children, who would be the child’s close relatives, relatives or families that have capacity and actual needs to adopt and raise the child. The children participating in this model will be nurtured, cared for, educated in a familiar and friendly environment that will minimize the risks and unsafety to children, so that children can have psychological stability, health care, education and intellectual development. This model also motivates the participation of the whole society in the care and support for the CEDC in order to gradually narrow the gap in living standards between children with disabilities and other children in their residences, helping them stabilize their lives and have a chance to exercise their rights. The children will have more favorable conditions to integrate into the community. Concurrently with the implementation of the nurture model, it is inseparable from carrying out and building a team of managerial officials, individuals and adoptive families having skills and knowledge on the care of the CEDC. To make the nurture model outspread and attract the participation of families and community, it cannot deny the social and communication roles of Social Workers in the community. It is also considered a factor to develop the network for individuals and families to participate in this nurture model. In order to be effective in implementing these forms of alternative care, the Social Workers should always follow the intervention and assistance procedures in accordance with the regulations on responsibilities, duties and apply professional knowledge, occupational skills and specific methods of social work appropriately in practice. This is one of the important factors to ensure the smooth implementation of family-based alternative care in the community and achieve long-term effectiveness. REFERENCES [1] Report issued by the Department of Children – Ministry of Labour, 2018. Invalids and Social Affairs, Summary Report of 2018. [2] Law on Children No. 102/2016/QH13 issued on 5 April 2016 by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. [3] Nguyen Trong An, 2012. Protection and care for children in the new age. National Political Publishing House, Hanoi [4] Decree No. 56/2017/ND-CP, of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Children. [5] Law on Adoption No. 52/2010/QH12 issued on 17 June 2010, promulgated by the National Assembly. [6] Civil Code No. 91/2015/QH13 issued on 24 November 2015, promulgated by the National Assembly. [7] Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, UNICEF, 2018. Protection and care of children in extremely difficult circumstances. Labor - Social Publishing House, Hanoi. [8] Decree No. 136/2013/ND-CP issued on 21 October 2013 by the Government promulgating regulations on social assistance policies for social protection objects. 85
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