Unaccompanied and Separated Children

Definitions
What do we think each of these terms mean?
Child

Unaccompanied child

Separated child
Independent living children

Orphan

Child headed household

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Definitions
 Child: any person under the age of 18 (CRC, Art. 1)
 Unaccompanied children: separated from both parents, AND other
relatives, AND are not being cared for by an adult responsible for
doing so.
 Separated children: those separated from both parents, or from
previous legal or customary primary caregiver, but not necessarily
from other relative.
 Orphans: children both of whose parents are known to be dead.
 Children in Child Headed Households (CHH): unaccompanied
children under the age of 18, living in a group with other children.
 Positional
debate
A social worker identified an unaccompanied child
during an emergency, what should be the first
action to undertake.

1.Food , clothing, and other basic needs.

2.Family tracing.
3.Alternative care placement.
 Causes of
Separation
Accidental (Involuntary) separations
• Children are lost in the chaos of an attack
• Death of parents or caretakers
• Children are away (school, hospital, etc) when family has to
flee
• Abduction
• Parents/caregivers are arrested or detained
• Non-standard humanitarian intervention (do no harm).
Causes of Separation
“Deliberate” Separations
• Children are with extended family/neighbor/stranger for temporary safekeeping
• Children are displaced without parents/caretakers (e.g. children go to IDP camp with
extended family while parents stay to rebuild/work)
• Children are placed in orphanages or institutions by parents hoping for better services for
their children
• Children decide to leave – b/c of abuse, or for work, etc.
• Children join armed forces (revenge, protection of families, for lack of opportunities, etc)
• Children/carers take temporary asylum in another country during the emergencies
• Parents leave to another region or country for employment (migration)
• Children are evacuated for medical reasons or other
• Aid agencies provide aid in way that promotes family separation
• Trafficking
Consequences of Separation
Understanding the consequences of separation is essential to guide both individual
and collective actions on behalf of separated children.
What protection risks do separated children face?
• Neglect, and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and exploitation
• Military recruitment
• Child labor
• Arbitrary detention
• Trafficking
• Discrimination and denial of access to food, shelter, housing, health services and
education
• Becoming ill or injured, including infected with HIV/AIDS
• Lack of family environment and consistent caregiver, without which their full
development is at serious risk of being disrupted or impeded
Actions to Prevent Separation
With families/communities:
• Where appropriate, use mass communication campaigns (with teachers,
health workers, etc.)
• Provide information to parents/caregivers about the danger of placing
children in institutions, family based alternatives and available support
(including tracing)
• Put ID bracelets on young children; Teach children 2 and older to say
their names and that of their parents; Teach older siblings to take care
of younger siblings
• Strengthen social protection measures targeting vulnerable families to
prevent secondary separation (cash grants, social work support)
Actions to Prevent Separation
What information to give aid workers:

• That aid should be distributed in a way that prevents further separation

(e.g. establishing emergency schools near places of displacement)

• Be aware of referral mechanisms and places to go to for parents who

have lost children

• Logistics and transport – register children before boarding

• Hospital personnel – record details of all children who are hospitalized

Actions to Prevent Separation
Government Actions:
• Strengthen and provide information on legal framework for alternative care
(foster care, adoption etc)
• Develop policy on separated children to promote family based care and
discourage institutionalization
• Prohibit adoption of affected children until at least two years after emergency
• Police and other government agencies (e.g. border officials) to
monitor/prohibit movement of children without their legal guardians out of
the country
• Advocate/communicate against separation (e.g. use media to discourage
separating children from their families)
• Consider using social policy and cash transfer schemes to prevent separation
• Establish mechanisms for monitoring families at risk of separation (social
workers) and institutions
Response to Unaccompanied &Separated Children

1. Identification and registration of separated children and parents who

have lost their children (database)

2. Ensure that immediate/interim family based care is provided and

monitor and support this care (database)

3. Undertake family tracing, verification and reunification

4. Durable care arrangements (Best interests determination)

5. Post reunification/family placement follow-up and monitoring

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What is Alternative Care?
A formal or informal arrangement whereby a child is looked
after outside the parental home, either by decision of judicial or
administrative authority or duly accredited body, or at the initiative of
the child, his/her parent(s) or primary caregivers, or spontaneously by
a care provider in the absence of parents.
 Types of Alternative Care
• Foster care
• Kinship care
• Guardianship
• Supervised independent living
• Child headed households
• Community based care
• Group care
• Residential care
• Institutional care
Family Tracing and Reunification

Family tracing:
Refers to the process of searching for both family members
and/or primary legal or customary caregivers. The term also
refers to the search for children whose parents are looking
for them. The objective of tracing is reunification with
parents or other close relatives.
Family reunification
The process of bringing together the child and his or her
family or previous caregiver to establish or re-establish long-
term care. The term is also used when children are united with
family with whom they did not live before. When the child is
reunified with extended family members, it can also be called
“extended family placement”.
Steps of a family tracing project
are as follows:
• Registration and Documentation
• Information sharing with relevant actors
• Family tracing effort
• Positive tracing and persistant negative tracing
• Adult and child verification
• Documentation for Reunification
• Post reunification monitoring and support.
Obstacles in Tracing Families
• Insecurity
• Poor Inter-agency Coordination and
Collaboration.
• Restricted Access
• Resistance from Caregivers
• Lack of/limited information.
UASC Prevention and Response Summary
• Know the causes of separation and its preventive
measures;
• Have appropriate human and financial resources;
• If prevention fails, pre-identification of potential care giver
is essential;
• Family based care should be prioritized;
• Coordination and information sharing with population and
actors including cross border.
• Pre identify obstacles to successful tracing