Foster Care for 100 Orphan Children in India

Executive Summary

YCDA has initiated the Alternatives Form of Child Care programme focusing on care and protection of the children through community based rehabilitation and family focused alternative care arrangements to ensure the best interest of the children since 2007 in Boudh and Bolangir district in the partnership of SKN, The Netherlands. YCDA plays a pioneer role in promoting non-institutional care in the State like Odisha through community centric child care. I.e. Kinship Care, Foster Care/Group foster Care and independent living.

We are concerned that each child is different and we need to see each as an individual case with distinct life history and a unique set of current circumstances. The fact is that a child has not reached a particular developmental stage that is average for his or her age may be, but is not necessarily an indicator of neglect, trauma or abuse ,rather there can be different routes to encourage it and support the development of their potential through a proper plan or individual care plan.

In addition to this, for the proper implementation of the programme, YCDA now is supporting the children with small individual donation

Our guiding principle

The two most important attempts such as UNCRC &, ICPS serve as a guideline principle for promoting the concept alternative care. United Nations Convention on the Rights to the children states that in order to be able to develop his or her personality fully and harmoniously, a child should grow up in a family environment in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding .The integrated Child Protection scheme in its guiding principle mention that institutionalization of children have to be treated as the last resort as there is a need to shift the focus of interventions.

YCDA-Foster Care Programme

YCDA started the Foster care & Group foster care initiative for the first time in the state of Odisha after due lunching of ICPS. The objective of the programme is to provide a temporary, safe, stable and nurturing family life experience for a child when the child’s family is unable to provide. YCDA considers that Foster care is the best option for the family and community to give care and protection who need of care and protection and the care arrangement is the most beneficial and desirable environment for the healthy growth and development of a children

Foster Careis a family based non-institutional child care programme that provides temporary/substitute care for children in difficult circumstances, for example children whose parents are unable to care for them due to illness, death, desertion of one parent or any emotional crisis.

Group Foster Care:Group Foster is defined, as a family setting where a group of unrelated children are placed with fit facility/parents may/may not be having their own biological children

During the implementation of family based care arrangement YCDA has been rehabilitated the more than 500 CNCP in Foster care and Group foster care arrangement as per the best interest of the child.

Foster Family care provides a child with its basic needs of Love, affection and undivided attention. A foster home satisfies a child’s essential need for a mother. The shower of attention and care that the child gets from foster family helps preserve a child’s innocence.

YCDA experience at a glance:

• So far the CNCP is concerned YCDA has been able to reach among 500 children in need of care & protection children.
• All the children have been rehabilitated in family based care and enjoying their childhood.
• 300 Children are continuing their formal & higher education
• 128 children have been rehabilitated through self employed, marriage & family restoration.
• 244 children continuing schools and 41 of them scoring good position in class
• 25 children reading in higher secondary and 10 in vocational stream
• 100 Family has raised family income through different income generation activities
• 243 families have been linked with more than 5 different govt. schemes like widow pension, old age pension, Housing schemes, ration card and health insurance

YCDA-Support System during the period...

Individual Care Plan

Individual child care plan is most important tool to develop a comprehensive plan for a child, though we know that the need of the every child is different. As per the best interest of the child project staff assess the vulnerability, counsel the child and caregivers interact with different stakeholders and prepare a realistic care plan. Child Welfare Committee is authorized to finalized & recommend the best alternatives for the child. Accordingly we develop plan in consultation with CWC (Child Welfare committee) and after their recommendation we rehabilitate the child. Every plan must be tailored to meet the needs of the individual child; all plans should include a common focus on some key issues of the children.

During the period we have been made 100 Individual Care plan of the 100 children as focus made on need and best interest of the children and submitted before child Welfare Committee in the district. Support has been provided to the children by taking the reference of the Care plan throughout the year.

Group Foster Care Setup

Whenever the child is produced before the CWC they directly prefer for the institutionalization .The knowledge on Foster Care or Group Foster Care arrangement was absolutely less among the DCPU or CWC across the state and districts. There was no guideline no literature on foster care either in state or district.

Taking this opportunity, YCDA started the Group Foster Care and Individual Foster Care programme in three districts like Khordha, Bolangir and Boudh. During the period, 15 children have been placed in the fostercare arrangements as per the order of the CWC.

During the period, YCDA has been supported the living arrangements for the children by setting up the homes with the basic requirements like Bed, Water facility, Utensils, Chair, tables and their education materials for the children under the global giving support.

Need Based Support

This aims to provide basic needs of survival, development for holistic development of a child. 100 children were assessed to continue to get need based support. A family’s situation is reviewed every year and an annual plan is made as per their need. Children need various types of support ranging from those things necessary for survival, such as food and health care, to those interventions that will provide a better quality of life in the future such as education, clothes, shoes, psychosocial support and economic self-sufficiency. During the period 100 children got need based support from project initiative and through individual donation. They have been supported with food packets, dress materials, education materials, fees, coaching classes and health needs.

During the period Regular health check up of all supported 100 children is done. Immediate health problems of the vulnerable are addressed and special cases are taken care off.

Education Support

Major focus of project remained on mainstreaming dropouts in formal school and completion of formal schooling. This support has changed life of 500 children.  During the period, all the 100 children are successfully passed out in their academic and enrolled in next upper classes. Many of them are securing good position in their classes. In the new academic session as per the need analysis, all the 100 children have been supported with education reading & writing materials, school bags and admission fees to start their new academic session.

Counseling Support

Regular follow up and counseling support is provided to children. Counseling support aims to provide moral and professional support to overcome depression, trauma and cope with day to day life. During the period, our social workers regularly interact with the 100 child and counseled them time to time.On regular basis, counseling and psychosocial support helps to the children to come out from the depression & traumatic situation and the children are taking interest for their schooling and extra co curricular activities.

This year our 13 children passed out matriculation examination with scoring 1^st & 2^nd division .There after the counseling started and based on their potentiality and children interest the appropriate higher & Technical education and trainings are provided. During this Period career counseling of 13 numbers children have been conducted and as per the plan they took admission in higher & technical education as per their interest. This helps the children to build up their career and focused on their education.

Family strengthening /Capacity building Support

Household economic strengthening aims to reduce a family's vulnerability to poverty, increase economic independence, and improve people's ability to provide for their children 100 of families has been supported through income generation activities and 67 increase their income . As a result children are getting more care and support from caregivers.During the period ,27 nos. of families also have been linked in different govt. social security schemes i.e Housing scheme, Ration card , Old age pension &  Widow Pension schemes And availed the benefits of it.

During the period we provide training and orientation on parenting skills to the 100 care givers so that they could actively take care of the children. All the care givers gain knowledge and skill on parental care, personal health & hygiene. They are now using the tips learnt from the training in their day to day life.  

Hii..i am Sanjana (changed name) from Odisha India & This is my story…

Now, I am 17 years old. i am living with my brothers and sisters alone in a small hut very closed to the forest. we 5 people are living together. we are three sisters and two brothers..

Since my child hood life there was a  dream to be a teacher and make sure that no one will be left out from education from my family and village .but in the mean while an accident was destroyed our happy family .We lost our father and mother when i was only 10 years old and my all three brothers & sisters were too small .There was no body to look after us .so after that incident I dropped my education at the age of 10 years, stayed at home and did the daily wage labor work to manage my family and looked after my baby sisters.

I worked hard to earn the bread for the family and somehow managed but it was great difficult to send all of my elder sister and youngsters to school though they wanted to go to school.  My younger brother was going to school but he was supposed to be dropped out. My neighbor had arranged a job for him in a tea stall, but my brother did not want to leave the school. He was compelled to work in the stall to help me. Hardly were we having the 2squires of mills in a day. Somehow all of them were going to school. Over the period of time now they reached in the adolescent age like 15, 14 & 13 years.

In the meanwhile YCDA, explored our family and supported our family under the project alternative forms of child care for the children without parental care through the community involvement. They supported us in each and every stage of our life. With the help of them my brothers & sisters are continuing their studies and one of my sister got 2^nd division in 10th exam this year. This is my pleasure to thank YCDA, and the staff who were supporting us to make our life a better. With their support now we could have a house to get a shelter, with their certain effort we got linkage in Ujwala schemes and now cooking in the gas. Thanks to the community and the people who have helped us to get a better life. 

I have a great dream for myself and for my family, to make our dream fulfill  there are many people in all over the world want to help us to get our rights.

 Thanks to Supporters & Global giving to bring hope to our life…

 Let’s join hands to ensure every child live in a loving and caring family

• Progress Report on Foster Care for Orphan Children (PDF)