Early de-institutionalisation and child care priorities for children without parental care

Children living in institutional settings are susceptible to deprivation on a number of levels. There are base level needs for food, clothing, shelter and medical attention. Often children face deprivation that begins at this basic level, and often caregivers are so overwhelmed at meeting these basic needs for children that secondary needs such as stimulation to improve their cognition and social development fail to occur. Tragically, achieving stable attachment-based relationships is often overlooked, due to staff changes throughout the day, and staffing shortages on the weekends. Children are also grouped by age and may be in a hospital initially, then placed in a baby house throughout infancy, and later moved to an orphanage when approaching childhood. This constant change in environment and caregivers make it virtually impossible for children to develop stable relationships. The transition from an institution to a family home is often challenging for both the child and the parents. In fact, there are situations when children are waiting so also their parents, but the system is unable to be proactive. Often authorities and agencies do not act expeditiously and ultimately the child suffers who is innocent by all means. Children without parental care are most vulnerable. They are mostly separated from parents or abandoned or relinquished by biological parents due to social reasons. There are thousands of children in >403 adoption agencies and many more children in few thousand homes in the country. Perhaps we are far behind the goal. My paper will highlight about child care priorities for early de-institutionalisation of such children.