IFCO has three invited members who are part of the worldwide Better Care Network's (BCN) Advisory Group.  BCN has recently produced this resource which is to aid social work and child care practitioners and policy makers around the world in planning and providing better care for children - including family strengthening and out of home placement.

With a useful GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS the Toolkit contains a selection of practical guides and manuals to support a quality care system and the delivery of alternative care.  It is divided into 5 categories: 

# 1 Developing an Informed National Care Strategy

# 2 Standards & Policies for Quality Alternative Care (includes Kinship & Foster Care, Adoption & Institutional Care)

# 3 Individual Assessments, Care Planning & Family Reunification

# 4 Supporting Children in Care, their Families, & Alternative Caregivers

# 5 Protection & Care in Emergencies

>> CLICK FOR THE FULL BCN TOOLKIT in English >  The Better Care Network Toolkit  plus the 2009 UN-welcomed Guidelines for Alternative Care for Children  > in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese & Russian HERE 

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USA - Quick Facts About Foster Care
Children in Care

513,000 children were in the U.S. foster care system on September 30, 2005. Most children are placed temporarily in foster care due to parental abuse or neglect.

Race/Ethnicity

As a percentage, there are more children of color in the foster care system than in the general U.S. population. However, child abuse and neglect occur at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

Read the report, Children of Color in the Child Welfare System, from CWLA's National Data Analysis System.

Length of Stay

For the children in foster care on September 30, 2005, the average amount of time they had been in the system was 28.6 months. Half of those leaving care that year had been away from home for a year or longer. 54% of the young people leaving the system were reunified with their birth parents or primary caregivers.

Foster Homes

In 2004, there was a total of 153,000 licensed/certified/approved kinship and non-relative foster homes nationwide. In 2005, 24% of youth living foster care were residing with their relatives.  >> USA NFPA's web site CLICK HERE <<

>> FOR MUCH MORE USA INFORMATION FROM CWLA CLICK HERE <<

On July 29 the latest IFCO members-only Enewsletter was sent by email to paid-up members.  If you did not receive yours please contact ifco@ifco.info

Contents include items from the recent sold-out Brighton UK conference, Belgium, Ukraine, Portugal, Latin America, USA, the United Nations, Facebook, EveryChild, news of IFCO's new 3 year joint projects in Russia, plus our fundraising "Win a Mini" lottery draw +++ and more news on the July 2011 IFCO WORLD CONFERENCE IN CANADA < "Call for Papers" & more in August.

To receive the monthly IFCO Enewsletter you need to be a current IFCO member - please support IFCO's mission by joining or renewing your membership today!  Click here > http://www.ifco.info/?q=join_us_today

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE NEXT Enews by August 24 please to the EDITOR  

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Children's rights are violated or left unfulfilled in ways in which those of adults are not. This is a result of systemic discrimination - direct or indirect - against children.   The Guide > http://www.crin.org/Discrimination/CRC/index.asp

Children face discrimination in most societies in comparison to adults because they have less power. This is a result of children’s dependence on adults and adults' reluctance to give them more decision-making power as they develop the ability to exercise it themselves.

Besides experiencing discrimination as a group (or 'age-based discrimination'), children face discrimination on other grounds such as their gender, disability, or sexual orientation, and sometimes because of a combination of reasons. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has so far identified 53 grounds of discrimination against children based either on their identity or the identity of their parents.

All forms of discrimination against children are exacerbated by virtue of their age and vulnerability which mean they have fewer opportunities for challenging discrimination because, for example, they do not have access to courts and complaints mechanisms on an equal basis with adults.

This document aims to highlight the links between discrimination and the lack of fulfilment of children's rights. It shows how article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – the right to non-discrimination – could be applied to every right as set out in the Convention. Each article includes examples both of discrimination against children as a group and against particular children.

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>>> RELAF 2010 Seminar - September 2,3,4 - FOZ DE IGUAZU, BRAZIL <<<

For more details in Spanish & English + RELAF's latest Enews click here 

>>> REMINDER >>> you can get a basic translation of the IFCO web site in many languages by using the "Google Translate" tool in the right side bar >>> 

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UPDATE! >  26/07/10 > WELL DONE!!! > Children’s NGOs convinced the authorities not to strengthen the residential system in Ukraine

21 July - from CRINMAIL 1184        

"Ukraine: call to halt return to 'Soviet style' institutions"        "Time warp"   

Ukraine: Children's rights NGOs in Ukraine have called on the Prime Minister to scrap an order which they say would undo progress made in reforming the country's system for children without parental care.

21 JULY > A Russian-U.S. agreement on child adoption will come into effect by the end of this year, a Russian Education Ministry department head said today.

On July 21-23, the fourth round of Russian-U.S. adoption talks will be held in Moscow.  

"We hope we will manage to iron out the remaining uncoordinated positions during these three days in order to pass the text of this agreement within the next two weeks for coordination in the U.S. and Russian federal executive bodies," the director of the Department for Education, Additional Education and Social Protection of Children at the Ministry of Education and Science, Alina Levitskaya, said.

She said the agreement would come into effect in November or at the beginning of December.

Russian Child Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov also insists that the bilateral adoption agreement should be signed as soon as possible, the ombudsman's press service said in a statement issued on 21 July.

"...Such a complicated and delicate issue as adopting children and taking them abroad can't be done without a proper legal base which a bilateral agreement should presuppose," the ombudsman said.

Astakhov also said that the number of foreign adoption agencies working in Russia should be reduced.

Russia is one of the largest sources of foreign adoptions for U.S. families, accounting for about 10% of foreign adoptions, but the issue has become controversial in recent years following several incidents involving the mistreatment of Russian children in the United States.

Gabrielle Jerome - UK > Our young people particularly benefitted from the opportunity to present their production and the positive reception and  personal comments they received afterwards has done a lot for them as individuals and as a group. There are few arenas where young people feel confident to express their personal experiences of being in care and their achievements despite all obstacles, and it is the warmth and acceptance of IFCO conferences which provide a much needed launch pad for voices which we hope will have the courage to do great things.  Well done and keep up the good work. 

Luisa Boleo - Portugal > I enjoyed the Brighton Conference: a nice venue, a good organisation, wonderful plenary sessions, interesting workshops and once again the participation of young people. I don’t know any other conference where adults listen to young people and try to understand what they feel and how they have lived through all the difficulties in their lives. I think that contribution is invaluable. No expert can replace that.

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If you were at the IFCO Brighton Conference Dinner then you were able to buy a £2 Draw ticket to win a new Mini in the "Great Big small Charity Car Draw" but you can also buy them online by clicking here > http://tinyurl.com/IFCOminiDRAW   [Open in new window]                              

Sorry - but only residents of England, Scotland and Wales aged over 18 are allowed to buy our online tickets to enter the Great Big small Charity Car Draw, due to the regulations from the UK Gambling Commission. Sales of Draw tickets finish on 6 September.  Draw is on 14 October 2010. The winner's name will be displayed on the web site: www.smallcharitycardraw.co.uk

The Draw is organised by the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) www.thefsi.org   FSI & IFCO promote responsible gambling www.gambleaware.co.uk

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BIDS ARE INVITED FROM IFCO MEMBER ORGANISATIONS TO HOST / CO-HOST IFCO'S 2012 & 2013 CONFERENCES - more info from president@ifco.info 

> To see a list of the 30 previous IFCO Conferences click the headline above <