EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the world and disrupted the lives of hundreds of millions of children, including those living in the Southeast Asia region. Despite being considered not greatly-at-risk to acquiring the virus, children and youth are still facing both old and new sets of issues and challenges that hinder their enjoyment of their rights.
The pandemic, while a health issue, has caused socio-economic crises as well. This is significantly felt by the poor, the most vulnerable, and the most at-risk populations, including children and young people living under different care settings, those who left care, and those who are providing care to them. The loss of income of care-leavers and caregivers has brought numerous challenges with it, such as, the inability to pay for rent, bills, and tuition fees, as well as to buy food and other basic needs. With some basic government services on hold due to lockdown measures, access to free health services can also be limited.
The cases of mental health issues among children are also said to be increasing. With the mobility restrictions, school closures, and forced social isolation, many of them find it difficult to cope with the anxiety brought by the pandemic. The digital divide is further highlighted in many discussions, especially that it affects how children and youth will move forward along with the changes in the mode of learning and communicating with peers.
Across the region, various responses have been taken to manage the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, including those in alternative care. Information-sharing through various communication tools has never been more strengthened and maximized. Policies on child protection and reporting mechanisms have been repeatedly shared and cascaded to the relevant stakeholders, in the hope that they will be translated and implemented effectively on the ground. Various interventions have been introduced to reach out to children-in-need, especially those with disabilities and in need of special care.
Despite the existing programmes, much remains to be done to manage the long-term impact of the pandemic. The alternative care landscape will be affected and relevant changes will have to be enacted in response to this situation.
This policy brief is not a study on the alternative care system in light of the current pandemic. It aims to provide context on what is generally happening on the ground, based on the experience and assessments made by our organization and other care providers as well, and to give policy recommendations based on the gaps identified.
“For me, the impact of COVID-19 has both negative and positive aspects to it. Because of it, we are experiencing hunger. I lost my job and it is difficult to sustain the needs of our family. But because of it too, I am closer to my family. I am more motivated to keep them safe and healthy. And we are also closer to God. Because of our family's camaraderie, and with God's grace, we are able to survive and meet our daily needs. We still ask ourselves sometimes why is this happening to us, why are we becoming poorer and poorer. But because we are under a kinship program, I get to be with my brother and he is assured that he will still be able to go to school.” - A Kinship (sibling) Guardian, Philippines
Despite the lack of the actual numbers, stories of children and youth under different care options including kinship care, foster care and residential care, as well as of care leavers and caregivers, facing the challenges brought by the pandemic and coping with its impact continue to surface, pushing stakeholders to take more concrete actions."Vietnam experiences the highest unemployment for a decade due to Covid-19. Many care leavers lost their jobs and are unable to pay their bills. Although the government has announced support packages to benefit people affected by the pandemic, some care leavers have trouble accessing it due to the large volume of paperwork needed to prove they lost their income due to the pandemic." - A Care Leaver, SOS Viet Nam
“The crisis has impacted us greatly. My brother lost his job and we are now depending on our other brother who is a fisherman. My education also has been affected as physical classes have been stopped. Now, they are talking about transitioning to online classes, something my family cannot afford. Because of this pandemic, my brother who lost his stable job returned to fishing. I don't know when this pandemic will end. When we lost our parents due to Typhoon Haiyan, we also lost everything. But now, my siblings and I have only each other to support one another. So I really hope things will get better soon.” - A Child in Kinship Care, Philippines
1. Designate as essential, and adequately resource child welfare and protection services and workers during the lockdown and isolation measures. Social workers are at the forefront to contain and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our children, families, caregivers and communities. No resources should be spared to ensure their wellbeing, health, protection, training, preparedness, and labour rights so that they can continue to deliver their services. Personal protective equipment must be made available for them.2. Scale up social protection services that support families’ income and wellbeing. This includes, among others, implementing or augmenting cash transfer programmes, improving access to health, education, disability services and housing during and after the outbreak; and directly delivering food, hygiene items and kits, education/play materials; enhancing connectivity access for remote education to bridge the digital divide, and to provide parenting support; and expanding access to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) to address the consequences of isolation on children and their families.3. Strengthen inter-agency coordination among different areas of government and with nongovernmental organizations delivering services to the community to address the multidimensional support that children in alternative care or fragile family environments need, and ensure effectiveness and efficiency of interventions.4. Redouble safeguarding, prevention and support. In-person monitoring of children, families, and care settings must continue to reduce risks of abuse, violence and neglect of children during a lockdown. This can be complemented with enhanced reporting mechanisms, innovative long-distance and remote monitoring processes, direct access for children and parents to hotlines, and dissemination of age-appropriate information and resources.5. Ensure that progress achieved in quality alternative care is not jeopardized in the roll-out of the response measures and the long-term plans, and continue aligning ongoing and new measures with the UN Guidelines for the Alternative care of Children and with the related-commitments made through the adoption of the 2019 UN Resolution on the Rights of the Child on children without parental care – including:- Robust and adequate gatekeeping and monitoring processes ensuring the necessity and suitability of every child’s placement and avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions when selecting alternative care placements. Assessment mechanisms should be adapted to situations of lockdown and isolation when necessary.- Appropriately supported and resourced care settings to ensure the emotional, psychological, physical, educational wellbeing, and development of all children in alternative care. This must include maintaining contact between the child and his or her family of origin, albeit remotely during a lockdown. Care settings should be equipped with education and didactic tools, as well as space for recreation and exercise to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of children while in lockdown.- Adequate and prompt process for the reintegration of children in their families of origin. Planned, supported, supervised and suitable reintegration of a child should continue to be made on a case-by-case basis, giving due consideration to the child’s best interests. Regarding the readiness of the family to receive the child, the support needs of the family should be assessed and met to ensure a successful reunification. Monitoring must continue during lockdown periods, guaranteeing access to adequate support if necessary. Closures of alternative care settings must not force unplanned reintegration without these considerations.- Additional alternative care placements should be foreseen and planned for, as short and/or long-term loss of caregivers (who may fall sick or die due to the pandemic) may lead to additional care placement needs. Any expansion of the system should follow the quality standards and be aligned with the UN Guidelines.- Sustained advocacy for inclusive child care reforms to ensure quality care for all children without or at risk of losing parental care amidst the pandemic. Though restrictive measures are in place, individualized care options must be made available to safeguard the overall wellbeing and development of children. Efforts, then, to push for the legal recognition of a range of quality alternative care options including kinship care, foster care and familylike care, in the Southeast Asia region must be intensified.6. Improve and scale up support and protection of care leavers who are faced with increased uncertainty, risks, and vulnerability in the context of lockdown and isolation during the immediate response. In the longterm, they might be confronted with a deep recession and have far fewer opportunities for an independent life:- Enhance mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) to help them cope with the lockdown and isolation.- Provide direct social protection support (through the delivery of resources and goods; access to training, education, and didactic materials; increased employability opportunities; direct cash transfers; housing allowance)- Promote youth-led initiatives and peer-to-peer support and establishment of networks to provide guidance and outreach.7. Ensure that additional protective measures are taken to protect children and young people with disabilities. All response plans must be inclusive and accessible to them. They should be equally prioritized when providing basic services, especially health support.8. Offer shelter or isolation possibilities for other vulnerable groups like children and families living in the streets. Make sure that care options are available to them, and that they have access to essential services, and are equipped with information on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as essential services such as health, hygiene, protection, education, and nutrition.
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