The Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative is a global effort dedicated to promoting safe and nurturing family care for children. In its fourth year, the initiative achieved significant milestones in reforming national children’s care systems, preventing child-family separation, and redirecting donor and volunteer support away from residential care institutions.
Residential care facilities successfully transitioned to family support centers in several countries, including Guatemala, Kenya, and Moldova. Care leaver organizations were strengthened in Kenya and Guatemala, and engagement in care reform by faith-based, academic, and government bodies increased across all demonstration countries. The Transforming Children’s Care Global Collaborative Platform’s membership grew substantially, with 750 members, including young people and adults with lived experience of care.
In Guatemala, CTWWC expanded to the Western Highlands and established formal family strengthening partnerships with municipal governments. The organization supported a comprehensive study on alternative family care in Guatemala, providing valuable insights into alternative family-based care options. CTWWC also provided technical assistance to the Guatemalan government’s Social Welfare Secretariat, leading to the creation and launch of a nationally endorsed foster care strategy.
In Kenya, CTWWC collaborated with the Government of Kenya’s National Council of Children’s Services and the Directorate for Children’s Services to support the official launch of Kenya’s ten-year National Care Reform Strategy. The organization provided guidance to the Government of Kenya and to Muslim leaders and communities for the formalization of the traditional Islamic child care practice known as Kafaalah. CTWWC also provided financial and technical support to enhance the Alternative Family Care module within Kenya’s National Child Protection Information Management System.
In Moldova, CTWWC organized a learning exchange visit to Scotland for officials from the Moldovan government, UNICEF, and other partners to learn about Scotland’s experiences in policy development and public financing strategies for care reform. The organization facilitated the establishment of a government-led working group on social service workforce enhancement and led a review and update of Moldova’s case management regulations, tools, and guidance.
CTWWC also achieved significant progress in its demonstration countries, including the launch of the Kenya National Care Reform Strategy, the implementation of the Moldovan government’s National Child Protection Program, and technical assistance and advisory support provided by the CTWWC Guatemala team to care reform efforts in Mexico and Peru. The organization expanded efforts with Catholic partners in India and Haiti to strengthen families and prevent separation.
In addition, CTWWC successfully closed 65% of its family reintegration cases in Guatemala, while an additional 21% of the cases were transferred to trained government case workers for follow-up with those families. A total of 130 caregivers in Guatemala completed training in CTWWC positive parenting schools to prevent unnecessary family-child separation. CTWWC also supported the establishment of three Community Commissions for Family Care within the Zacapa municipality to identify children and families at risk of separation and raise awareness about protective factors to prevent separation.
The organization’s efforts in Kenya included expanding support for the implementation of Kafaalah in Kilifi, Kisumu, and Mombasa counties. CTWWC held four forums to promote family care and care reform with 165 Catholic Church clergy nationally. The organization conducted a mapping exercise of adults and children with disabilities in Seme sub-county and Kisumu County to promote disability-sensitive decision-making, resource allocation, and service provision.
In Moldova, CTWWC continued transitioning children out of six residential care facilities, including the Center for Children with Polio and Cerebral Palsy Hincești. The organization enrolled 139 new caregivers in programs to prepare them for family reunification and for providing alternative family care. CTWWC facilitated 116 successful service referrals, linking 20 caregivers and 55 children to essential health, education, family, economic support, and legal services.
The organization’s global exchange and collaboration on children’s care expanded significantly through the Transforming Children’s Care Global Collaborative Platform, whose membership grew to 750 members. CTWWC demonstration country teams shared learning about care reform via abstracts and presentations at regional and global conferences, events, and speaking opportunities. The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and its COVID-19 Commission presented a guidance document on child protection during COVID-19, with input from CTWWC, which included a call-to-action for the Church to ensure that children grow up in families rather than residential care.