Kenya has kicked off the transition of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) from charitable children’s institutions (CCIs) to family and community-based care as it implements the 10-year National Care Reform Strategy (2022-2032) for children.

Directorate of Children Services in Nakuru says there are 2,878 orphaned and vulnerable children under the care of 78 CCIs in the county that host 1,393 girls and 1,485 boys in all the 11 sub-counties.

County Director of Children’s Services Pilot Khaemba says 97 per cent of children in CCI’s are registered with government-administered Child Protection Information Management Systems (CPIMS).

Sixty per cent of CCI’s in the devolved units have expressed willingness to register as Child Welfare Programmes to enable them to transition to providing community-based care for children and families.

Khaemba made the announcement during the presentation of a situational analysis report for children in Nakuru and cost care reform action.

He said the government’s commitment to ensuring that all children who transition to the new settings get required social benefits and privileges, indicating that the reform strategy is key in fulfilling Kenya’s international commitments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, among others.

Khaemba said by shifting to family-based care, the reforms place the children’s best interests at the top.

The report shows that about 50 per cent of the homes in Nakuru are concentrated in Gilgil and Naivasha sub-counties, which host 20 and 19 CCIs respectively, with Nakuru-East coming third with 11, while Rongai and Molo have 9 each. Other CCIs in the devolved unit’s sub-counties are located in Nakuru West (7) and Nakuru North (2).

Khaemba addresseed the importance of the County Children Advisory and Care Reform Committee in developing county specific implementation plans, mobilising local-level resources, sustaining advocacy for family-based care of children, monitoring compliance and reporting to the Office of the Secretary for Children Services and other partners.

“Chapter 141 of Laws of Kenya, Section 54 (2-3), provides for establishment and operationalisation of County Children Advisory Committees composed of state and non-state actors in children services space. In addition, the care reform strategy establishes a county level committee for the purpose of advising on implementation of the strategy for child care,” the director explained.

He explained that the strategy had been designed to strengthen family ties, promote community development and reduce the burden on institutional care.

 Khaemba said no CCI was targeted for closure and instead the residential care shall be transitioned to family care with the resources that are supporting each individual being redirected in a systematic manner to support the child in family or community settings.

According to the director, once the transition is complete, donors and CCI’s are expected to redirect funding to welfare programmes that support children in their family and community environments.

Khaemba indicated that the transition has been split into three phases, namely, learning and decision-making, preparing the CCIs for the transition and implementing the transition.

“To holistically, systematically and sustainably transition 2,816 children to either biological families or alternative family options or supported independent living, it will cost about Ksh88 million. In addition, it will cost about Ksh37 million to carry out other care reform activities that are outside the case management process plan, according to the county roadmap,” the official stated.

The strategy, which aims to ensure that all children live in safe and supportive family and community settings also focuses on preventing separation of children from their families by addressing poverty and lack of access to basic services and by strengthening family-based care options like kinship care, foster care and adoption.

Latest statistics show that 3.6 million children in Kenya are orphans and are prone to poverty, neglect and abuse. Khaemba said board members of Charitable Children Institutions (CCIs) in Nakuru are being trained on how to embrace and implement the government’s directive on transitioning to child welfare programmes.

Phase one of the transition from CCI to family and community-based care, Khaemba noted, focuses on aligning the CCI leaders to fully comprehend the rationale and benefits behind transitioning their model of care from institutional care to family- and community-based care.

“In phase two, the leaders of CCIs are required to develop strategies, plans, activities and budgets to ensure a smooth and successful transition to family and community-based care services,” he pointed out.

He said the ministry envisions a future where the CCIs will play a key role in supporting vulnerable children under family and community-based care by the year 2030.

“We are committed to bringing on board all stakeholders in the children’s sector and we anticipate the complex transition from CCIs to child welfare programmes will be successfully done,” Khaemba said.

In addition, “As we focus on transition, we also urge financiers and supporters of CCIs to now have a different structure of supporting these children in family and community-based system care.”

“The amount of money spent on a child in a CCI per month is sufficient to meet the monthly needs of a family of four,” said the official referring to a joint study conducted by the ministry and other organisations.

Khaemba expressed concern that 55 per cent of CCI placements are without court orders and thus a child protection risk while only 27 per cent of children are in Child Protection Information System (CPIMS) through sub-county children offices.

He explained that the change process to ensure family care for all children involves prevention of separation through family strengthening. He explained that there is family-based alternative care, which involves strengthening and expanding family-based care options such as kinship, foster care, adoption and Kafalaah (an alternative family care option practised by Muslims) for children who are unable to live with their biological parents.

Khaemba termed poverty, gender-based violence and marriage break-up as some of the major factors that cause children to escape from their homes and live in the streets.

The care reform strategy spearheaded by the National Council for Children’s Services (NCCS) is rooted in the belief that all children belong in a family backed by overwhelming scientific evidence that children under institutional care suffer severe emotional and sometimes irreversible developmental setbacks as opposed to those raised in families and communities.

“This approach can ultimately lead to a more sustainable and effective system of care and protection for vulnerable children and families,” Khaemba pointed out.

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other studies done globally, at least eight out of ten of these children have biological and extended families and, with appropriate support, their families could look after them.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Jane Ngugi