UPPSALA UNIVERSITÉT & UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS & BUSI} UPPSALA UNIVERSITET DEVELOPMENT OF FOSTER CARE SERVICE FOR CHILDREN IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN VIETNAM A Comparative Study on the Legislation, Policy and Practice of Foster care for Children in Sweden, China and Vietnam Authors: Phan Minh Chau, MPPM Intake 3 Chir Đức Toàn, MPPM Intake 4B Supervisor: Dr. Sven Jungerhem Local supervisor: Dr. Pham Vũ Thắng Class: MPPM, Intake 3 - Group 9 Hà Nội, January 2012 Every child deserves a home of his own - Harry Holt - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With utmost appreciation, we would like to acknowledge the continuous guidance and constructive supervision from our supervisors Mr. Sven Jungerhem and Mr.
Pham Vu ‘Thang. Special thanks to the respondents who were willing to participate in this study. We would like to thank all the individuals who participated in the interviews and contributed to the results of this research. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the lecturers in the Master Programme on Public Management, particularly Mr.
Do Tien Long and Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thang, and the programme coordinator Ms. Nguyen Phuong Lan. This study is dedicated to our families who always support us! we ABSTRACT Aim: As many research show that institutional care leaves developmental damage, risks of abuse and exploitation, social consequences and lacks good quality care, Vietnam has responded to the recommendation of the United Nations on deinstitutionalisation of care for children.
Alternatives to institutional care were established, with foster care as the family-type environment for children in need ofcare. The objective of this research is studying the relevant legislation and practice of foster care service in Vietnam in comparison to Sweden and China, in order to come up with the recommendations on the development of foster care service in Vietnam through the improvement of the regulatory and legislation. The research is selected with: - A motivation to promote placement of children in need of care into foster homes (including kinship foster homes) in community, rather than into institutions; and - A strong desire to move 20 thousand children who are in institutions out of institutional/residential care and placed into foster homes. Methodology: With current legislation and policy on foster care in Viet Nam, Sweden and China as the subject of the research, the research follows the comparative approach and the right-based approach.
The key research methodologies applied were: policy analysis, particularly problem tree, desk review, and interview and case study. Secondary data collected from desk review were confirmed and further in-depth analyzed with primary data collected from interviews. Result & Conclusions: ‘The thesis gives a critical overview of legislation and policy on foster care and the implementation of foster care services in Vietnam. Putting Vietnam in a comparison with Sweden and China, the research finds out that the existing legal documents of ‘Vietnam are not comprehensive; there is no standard term for “foster care”; there is no national standardized guidelines on foster care for children in special circumstances; there is no support services for foster children and foster/kinship families; there is neither supervision and support nor monitoring and evaluation on foster care process and foster care service quality; there is no regulation on roles and responsibilities ofall players in foster care delivery process, especially the involvement of non-state sector: and no services provided in institutions rather than food and beds.
With these findings, the research recommends that the existing legal documents should be improved and new documents should be issued to fill the gaps and solve the problems, in the aim to promote the development of foster care service for children in special circumstance in Vietnam. Recommendations for actions until 2015 The group of recommendations for strengthening and improving 1) Regulate a standard term for “foster care” in Vietnamese. 2) Regulate the age of a child with an increase from 16 to 18 years. 3) Regulate the roles and responsibilities of all players in foster care service delivery with clear division of work and set up a strong operation mechanism among key players.
The group of recommendations for developing and issuing 4) Develop support services for families and children before, during and after foster care. 5) Establish the pool of professional community social workers. 6) Regulate the process for transformation of Social Protection Centres to Social Resources Centres. 7) Regulate national guidelines on Foster care, with a broad coverage of all children in need of care; standardized procedure for foster care placement (pre-, during and post placement); services and support available for foster families and foster children, including well-structured financial allowance scheme, with the experience from pilot foster care programmes of INGOs in Vietnam.
8) Establish a committee responsible for child welfare, including foster care, with decision-making responsibility for all foster care placements and support to be granted. 9) Set up a strong monitoring and evaluation system Recommendations for actions until 2020 ‘The group of recommendations for strengthening and improving 1) Enhance international cooperation to learn international experience. 2) Conduct further studies in the following topic areas: (i) The willingness of Vietnamese people for providing foster care to children without adequate parental care: a quantitative and qualitative research; (ii) A costing study on the minimum package of foster care service for children without adequate parental care in Vietnam; (iii) Foster care as a profession — Yes or No?; (iv) Promoting kinship care as a traditional good deed; (v) Vietnamese Social protection centres in the transitional period; The group of recommendations for developing and issuing 5) Issue a national regulation on alternative care for children, with foster care as an option, to ensure the performance of children’s rights, to correspond to the UN Convention on the rights of the child and the UN Guidelines on Alternative care of Children. 2) Develop a national strategy on human resource for child and family welfare from local to central level, including capacity building and strengthening.
3) Develop a national programme, action plan for scaling up foster care service in Vietnam, including awareness-raising on foster care and encouragement volunteer fostering, especially kinship foster care. 4) Promote the involvement of all economic sectors, especially private sector, in providing child welfare services. Limitations: (i) Limited access to documents There is a limitation in access to legal documents on foster care, especially legal document in China. (ii) Limited research sampling/access to key informants As this is a personal study touching on a new policy in Vietnam, difficulties were met in contacting local authorities for interviews.
Officers in public sector hesitated to provide their personal ideas on existing legislation on foster care and the obstacles they meet in their work due to the regulations. (iii) Limited archived materials on foster care in Vietnam The topic of foster care in Vietnam is a new topic for research and no previous research reports were disseminated. (iv) Limitation of length for the final research report Due to the limitation of 10,000 to 15,000 words, the report does not go into details in technical social work aspect. Contribution of the thesis: The research aims at serving as the foundation for policy makers for the long-term scaling up of foster care service for children in Vietnam, with recommendations for immediate actions of improving the existing legislation for foster care.
Key words: best interest of the child, foster care, kinship care, alternative care, UNCRC, UN Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT. TABLE OF CONTENT. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATION LIST OF GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES CONCEPT OF TERMINOLOGIES CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. Motivations for and objective ofthe research 1.
Motivations for the research. Objective and aim of the research 2. Structure of the thesis 1. Limitations ofthe research CHAPTER II.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH, APPROACH OF THE RESEARCH AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES. Theoretical framework of the research 2. Principle of theUNCRC 17 2. Principles of the UN Guidelines mì Alternative care of Children 18 2.
Interview and case study. Data collection and analysis 21 2. Data analysi 23 CHAPTER III. LEGISLATION AND PRACTICE OF FOSTER CARE SERVICE FOR CHILDREN IN VIETNAM IN COMPARISON TO SWEDEN AND CHINA.
Swedish national legislation for foster care 24 3. Practice offoster care for children in Sweden 27 3. Chinese national legislation for foster care. Practice of foster care for children in Chin.
Vietnamese national legislation for foster care. Practice offoster care for children in Vietnam. Analysis and discussion: lessons learned. The compliance with UNCRC and L ý Guidelines on Alternati Care of Children 3.
Children in foster care 3. The procedures for foster care placemen 3. The availability of services for foster families and foster children 3. The role of social worker: 3.
The function of institutions Monitoring and evaluation The involvement of non-si CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOSTER CARE IN VIETNAM 4. Recommendations for actions until 2015 4. The group of recommendations for strengthening and improving.
The group of recommendations for developing and issuing 4. Recommendations for actions until 2020 4. The group of recommendations for strengthening and improving. The group of recommendations for developing and issuing BIBLIOGRAPHY.
INTERVIEWS WITH KEY INFORMANTS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AIDS Acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome CEDC Children in exceptionally difficult conditions DOLISA Department ofLabour, Invalids and Social affairs HIV Human immunodeficiency virus INGO International non-governmental organization NGO Non-governmental organization MOLISA Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social affairs UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund LIST OF GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES Graph 1. Children as the center of the family and the society Graph 2. Foster care model in Sweden Graph 3. Foster care model in China Graph 4.
Foster care model in Vietnam Graph 5. The tree of existing problems related to foster care service in Vietnam and recommendations. Principle of UNCRC: Model “The best interest ofa child” Table 1. Principles of UN Guidelines on Alternative care of Children Table 2.
Child allowance and large family supplement in Sweden Table 3. Monthly allowance for a foster family, including allowance for foster child, in China Table 4. Monthly subsidy for a foster child and foster family in Vietnam 10 CONCEPT OF TERMINOLOGIES Adoption Adoption refers to the establishment of a parent-and-child relationship between the adopters and the adopted upon fulfilling the requirements ofthe law.! Alternative care Alternative care is the form of care provided to a child who temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment.” Birth family The birth family is a family consisting of parents and their biological offspring”. It is the family into which the child is born.
The birth parents, in this context, mean both parents if they are together, or the mother, or the father’. Children A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier’. In Vietnam, a child is a Vietnamese citizen who is under 16 years of age according to the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education®. Children in Children in special circumstances are children with physically or special mentally abnormal conditions, who are unable to exercise their circumstances fundamental rights and integrate with the family and community’.
Children in special circumstances are: (1) children with disability/disabilities; (2) child victims of toxic chemicals; (3) orphans and abandoned children; (4) children infected with HIV/AIDS; (5) children in hard and hazardous jobs or expose to toxic substances; (6) children working far from their families; (7) street children; (8) child victims of sexual abuse; (9) children ' Vietnamese National Assembly (2010), Law on Adoption No. 52/2010/QH 12, Article 3 ? United Nations General Assembly (2009), Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children, Guideline 28-b ` Source: The Freedictionary.com * Source: UNICEF Vietnam * United Nations General Assembly (1989) Convention on the rights of the child, Article | © Vietnamese National Assembly (2004), Law on Child Protection, Care and Education No. 25/2004/0HI1, Article I "Ibid. Article 3 addicted to narcotics; and (10) children in conflict with the law Š.