To ratify or not to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: gains and losses

he UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified human rights instrument in the world. Indeed, since its adoption in 1989, it has been ratified by every country in the world—with the sole exception of the United States. It comes as a great surprise to many who are not human rights experts to learn that the U.S. stands apart from the world in not ratifying the CRC. The United States hosts the United Nations, the organization which adopted the CRC. Across the world—or at least in countries which are democratic or where people strive for a fair society—the U.S. is largely perceived as the land of freedom and home to human rights. Moreover, as John Witte explains, “American human rights lawyers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were among the principal architects of [the CRC] and have been the most forceful for children’s rights at home and abroad.” But what does the U.S. failure to ratify the CRC mean for its policies, internally and internationally, and ultimately for the children of the United States? ..

Conceptualising care in children's social services

This article explores the concept of care and the responsibility assumed by 'states' when taking children into care. It examines the limitations of the state in exercising its parental duty and it proposes a model for re-conceptualising children's social care by drawing on the literature on autonomy, recognition theory and specific provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The model places the child's dignity at the core of the care framework, and it argues that a children's rights approach which is grounded in moral theories contributes to their self-esteem and autonomy, both of which are key for a person's development and well-being. The model addresses the tension between children's rights and child welfare and it can be applied to child protection services that aim to take a children's rights approach

Young adults’ perspectives on their experiences of different types of placement in Romania

This study explores the childhood experiences and transitions to adulthood of 39 Romanian care leavers and adoptees, born around 1989 - 1990. In the past, Romania’s children in care became known to the world as 'the Romanian orphans' and some of them have been subjects to neurodevelopmental research studies focusing on the setbacks posed by institutionalisation in early life. This research project takes a different angle by: • Using life history approach and therefore capturing the participants’ in-depth accounts of how they recall their childhoods and the challenges they encountered in their transition to independent life; • Exploring four different types of placements and how they affect transition to independent life, from a user’s perspective. The fact that Romania undertook reform of the child protection system within the timespan of this generation of children provided a research opportunity to collect the users’ views on different types of placement that belonged to the unreformed system of the 1990s (large residential care and intercountry adoption) and the new types of placement (small group homes and foster care). For comparison purposes, I also included domestic adoption, a type of placement that was less controversial than the others at the time reforms were being introduced. Thus, the types of placement that are analysed through the research participants’ accounts are: • Residential care (institutions and small group homes) • Foster Care • Domestic Adoption • Intercountry adoption The study addressed two research questions: 1. How do Romanian born young people who grew up in care understand and narrate their experiences in different types of placement? 2. What narratives of agency are constructed by Romanian-born adults who grew up in different types of placement when they describe their transition to adulthood? By taking an interpretive stance, this study brings in the academic arena the voices of care leavers and adoptees. By using narrative analysis and focussing on the concept of dignity by employing identity theories, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Capabilities Approach, the study makes an important contribution to knowledge, with implications for further research, policy and practice. While interventions in child protection are influenced in each country by cultural, political and socio-legal factors, understanding the basic needs of children who are not raised by their birth families is important across different child protection systems. Therefore, the relevance of the research findings is not limited to Romania

Love and the state: why children’s rights matter for children in care

Over the past few years, people who grew up in foster care, or in children’s homes, in England and Scotland have demanded root-and-branch reforms of the care system, and have asked for love to be at the core of the system. Although ‘love’ cannot be legislated, this is a legitimate demand, given the importance of love for human well-being. It is, therefore, important to investigate how policy and practice in children’s social care can respond. This chapter draws on moral philosophy to argue that love is a matter of justice and, therefore, a duty. It proposes that, at minimum, children in care should receive attentive love, and that children’s rights can serve as proxies for them to have similar opportunities to become ‘lovable’ as children raised by their parents

Young adultsâ perspectives on their experiences of different types of placement in Romania

This study explores the childhood experiences and transitions to adulthood of 39 Romanian care leavers and adoptees, born around 1989 - 1990. In the past, Romaniaâs children in care became known to the world as 'the Romanian orphans' and some of them have been subjects to neurodevelopmental research studies focusing on the setbacks posed by institutionalisation in early life. This research project takes a different angle by: &bull; Using life history approach and therefore capturing the participantsâ in-depth accounts of how they recall their childhoods and the challenges they encountered in their transition to independent life; &bull; Exploring four different types of placements and how they affect transition to independent life, from a userâs perspective. The fact that Romania undertook reform of the child protection system within the timespan of this generation of children provided a research opportunity to collect the usersâ views on different types of placement that belonged to the unreformed system of the 1990s (large residential care and intercountry adoption) and the new types of placement (small group homes and foster care). For comparison purposes, I also included domestic adoption, a type of placement that was less controversial than the others at the time reforms were being introduced. Thus, the types of placement that are analysed through the research participantsâ accounts are: &bull; Residential care (institutions and small group homes) &bull; Foster Care &bull; Domestic Adoption &bull; Intercountry adoption The study addressed two research questions: 1. How do Romanian born young people who grew up in care understand and narrate their experiences in different types of placement? 2. What narratives of agency are constructed by Romanian-born adults who grew up in different types of placement when they describe their transition to adulthood? By taking an interpretive stance, this study brings in the academic arena the voices of care leavers and adoptees. By using narrative analysis and focussing on the concept of dignity by employing identity theories, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Capabilities Approach, the study makes an important contribution to knowledge, with implications for further research, policy and practice. While interventions in child protection are influenced in each country by cultural, political and socio-legal factors, understanding the basic needs of children who are not raised by their birth families is important across different child protection systems. Therefore, the relevance of the research findings is not limited to Romania.<p

Biographical experiences in out-of-home care settings

Präsentation von Daniela Reimer's Kapitel in "Qualitative methods in studies of identities and attachment: mothers and children’s perspectives"In this hybrid seminar, Daniela Reimer and Mariela Neagu will discuss in-depth about biographical experiences in out of home care settings based on their biographical studies of foster mothers in Germany and Romanian born foster children and adoptees respectively. This talk will explore the complexity of family life, an essentially private territory, through the social care lens and how it impacts on the identity of those involved as ‘carers’ or ‘cared for’. Daniela Reimer is Professor at the Institute of Childhood, Youth and Family at the Zurich University of Applied Science. She has conducted research on foster care and residential care and is the Coordinator of the International Foster Care Research Network, Member of the AcademiaNet and of the International Association for Outcome-Based Evaluation and Research on Family and Children’s Services. She is the author of the chapter on “Unplanned Breakdown of Foster Mothering” where she used biographical research methods to explore the identity challenges of foster mothers. Mariela Neagu is Research Associate at SKOPE, Department of Education the University of Oxford. Her research interests encompass identity and wellbeing theories, in particular the recognition theory and the Capability Approach, children’s rights and the ethics of care. Her book ‘Voices from the Silent Cradles’ (Policy Press, 2021), sheds light on children’s homes, foster care, domestic and international adoption from the perspective of the young people who experienced these types of care

Lifelong links

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