Features
ANPPCAN released a study on prevalence of informal fostering in one of the largest urban slums in Kenya. Key findings in Assessment of AIDS Related Orphans include: 87% of informal foster caregivers are female; 37% of fostered children have at least one surviving parent; 28% of fostered children lost one or both parents to AIDS; informal foster care providers in Korogocho are poorer than average; over 90% of fostering households have at least one child of their own. The findings underscore the need to adequately support and monitor these informal living arrangements.
Building on the practice of domestic child protection systems, the UNHCR Guidelines on Determining the Best Interests of the Child offers guidance on how to operationalize the best interests principle and apply it in practice. It defines the three situations in which UNHCR must undertake a BID: (i) the identification of the most appropriate durable solution for unaccompanied and separated refugee children, (ii) temporary care decisions for unaccompanied and separated children in exceptional circumstances, and (iii) decisions which involve the separation of a child against their will.