The Murang’a south child Advisory Committee (CAC) has been trained on the care reforms strategy in line with the Children’s Act 2022.
The participants who included key stakeholders in the children department like the probation, the NGAO, the police, the civil registrar and other non-governmental organization partners were introduced to elements of care reforms including the push towards family and community-based care for children.
Speaking during the training in Kenol, Assistant County Commissioner who is also the chairperson of the CAC, Alex Wainaina observed that stakeholders have to collaborate to provide and strengthen alternative family based care.
Further, he stressed on the need to strengthen families and prevent separation for the well- being of children who are bound to suffer the most incase families separate.
“From our statistics, everyday 15 children from this region get neglected by their parents or caregivers and that is where we must collaborate to support the reintegration of children from children’s homes to families and the transitioning of children’s homes to support family based care”.
The ACC called on the community to embrace alternative care placement which is being recommended in place of charitable children institutions (CCI).
“We are calling on the community to support us in getting foster care whereby we recommend having two willing and committed fosters parents in each location so that we can ensure our children grow up in a family setup and receive all the care and basic needs before being reintegrated back,” he noted
Susan Wambui, the Subcounty Children’s officer urged the committee members to ensure they carry their roles as gatekeepers as embedded in the broader child protection system.
She noted that gatekeeping includes the policies, systematic procedures, services and decision making which ensures that alternative care for children is used only when absolutely necessary and that children receive the most suitable support to meet their unique individual needs thereby upholding the best interests of the child.
“As duty bearers we need to be careful as we handle alternative family care because the safety of the child is paramount,” noted Ms Wambui.
Care reforms are meant to increase high quality and accessible tracing, reintegration, case management leaving care and aftercare services to support transition to family and community-based care.
“Foster care is voluntary willingness and other family members should agree to provide, care and maintenance for the child and we must know that it takes a village to raise a child,” she said.
Years of evidence show that separating children from their families seriously harms their health and development and as such families are better for a child’s health thus the need for Alternative care and care reforms as enshrined in the children’s act 2022.
Although the National Foster care day is normally celebrated annually every first Tuesday of May, Muranga County plans to celebrate it on October 15, being the first ever celebrated, to serve as a launch of the day after which it will be celebrated as in other parts of the world.
By Florence Kinyua
