Assessing Alternative Care for Children in Ghana

Author(s): Mari Hickman, Bashiru Adams, Ghana country core team

Year: 2018

Abstract:

Ghana’s care reform initiative is based on the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (hereinafter called “UN guidelines”; United Nations, 2012), which outlines specific principles and standards for the appropriate care of children, to ensure that they grow in a protective environment, free from deprivation, exploitation, danger, and insecurity. In November 2017, the DSW, under the MOGCSP, with funding and technical assistance from USAID’s DCOF and MEASURE Evaluation, conducted a self-assessment of the care reform system through a participatory stakeholder’s workshop that took place from November 14–17, 2017, at the Sunset Hotel in Kumasi, Ghana.

The assessment workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of government partners to accomplish the following specific objectives:

• Provide leadership in implementing a structured assessment of national care reform systems and strategies using a standardized framework/tool.
• Identify gaps and continuing needs in care reform.
• Develop plans to address priority needs in care reform.

The report presented here provides detailed findings from the assessment, based on analysis, and specific recommendations and actions to be taken by the government and partners based on the findings.