Application of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children: A Guide for Practitioners

This publication was prepared by the Red Latinoamericana de Acogimiento Familiar (Network of Latin-American Fostering Families), RELAF, with the cooperation of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It is mainly aimed at professional operators and people working in governmental and non- governmental institutions. The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children are intended to enhance the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant provisions of international and regional human rights law, in matters of protection and well-being of children who are in need of alternative care, or who are at risk of so being. Focus is placed on two main aspects:1. Ensuring that children do not find themselves placed in alternative care unnecessarily; and 2. where out-of-home care is provided, that it is provided in appropriate conditions and of a type that responds to the child’s rights, needs and best interests. The Guidelines must be turned into concrete tools that contribute to the formulation of legislation, the planning of public policies for child and adolescent care, and the concrete practices of public bodies and private institutions involved in the promotion and protection of children’s rights