EUROPE: Quality standards for out-of-home children in Europe

Summary: Within the framework of a three-year partnership, SOS Children’s Villages, International Foster Care Organisation (IFCO) and Fédération Internationale des Communautés Educatives (FICE) developed a set of quality standards for out-of-home child care in Europe.

[10 September 2007] - Within the framework of a three-year partnership, SOS Children’s Villages, International Foster Care Organisation (IFCO) and Fédération Internationale des Communautés Educatives (FICE) developed a set of quality standards for out-of-home child care in Europe.

The standards, which carry the same name as the partnership project, “Quality4Children”, were officially launched at the European Parliament in Brussels, on 13 June. Now they are ready for implementation.

The project Quality4Children used a singular and highly participative methodology. Children and youth without parental care, caregivers, social workers, and biological and foster parents from 26 European countries shared their experiences and expectations through narrative interviews (or storytelling).

The standards emerged out of a collection of “voices of the system” and their content clearly highlights the value of involving those directly affected by policies, regulations and practices.

This set of 18 standards is organised according to the three phases of care: decision-making and admission, care-taking, and leaving care. Each standard indicates the minimum of quality required in the different care processes, as well as responsibilities and guidelines for all stakeholders involved. Warning signs for inappropriate implementation are also listed under each standard.

Synergies established during the process of developing the standards must now be channelled towards the difficult task of their implementation. This should lead to visible and fundamental improvements in the out-of-home care systems in Europe and world-wide. As highlighted at the launching event in Brussels, the Quality4Children Standards come at a timely moment, following the Communication of the EU strategy on the rights of the child. All stakeholders should intensify their efforts to ensure that children without parental care are given due priority at all levels.

Based on the experiences gathered during elaboration of the standards, SOS Children’s Villages, IFCO and FICE call for joint action to:

• promote participation of children and youth in out-of-home care in all decisions affecting them;
• inform and motivate caregivers, social workers, governmental and non-governmental care providers to use the standards in their work;
• use the standards as a tool in advocacy and lobbying efforts aimed at improving the quality of care throughout Europe and worldwide;
• use the Quality4Children Standards as a benchmark for existing national care systems and international regulations and as inspiration for those which are still to be developed;
• make the Quality4Children Standards part of the national processes of de-institutionalisation;
• promote the methodology used in the Quality4Children project in order to develop quality care standards in countries that need to improve their care systems;
• and use the synergies between the Quality4Children Standards and the “Recommendations of the Council of Europe on the rights of children living in residential institutions”, as well as the more global “UN Guidelines for the appropriate use and conditions of alternative care for children”. (to be adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2008)

We strongly believe in the power of partnerships. Consequently, we are looking forward to cooperating with your organisation / network to reach our ultimate goal of improving the situation of children without parental care and promoting children’s rights.

An electronic version of the standards is available on the web page www.quality4children.info. If you would like any additional information about the Quality4Children standards, contact Ms. Raluca Verweijen-Slamnescu ([email protected]). 

Further information

• Better Care Network