Children on the Move: From protection towards a quality sustainable solution (A practical guide)

Children on the move: From protection towards a quality sustainable solution is a practical guide for all professionals working with vulnerable children on the move. It promotes the development of a well-connected, transnational network of child protection professionals, and proposes an eight-step procedure to deliver continuity of care. Specifically, it proposes holistic protection that:

• Provides children on the move with child-centred, quality and sustainable solutions; 
• Develops and follows harmonised care standards to ensure a quality and continuity of transnational care, and
• Establishes adequate case monitoring and follow-up mechanism across borders.

The manual has its roots in West Africa, where many children move to neighbouring countries or other regions, such as North Africa and Europe. Recognising a lack of collaboration and common standards within the region, The International Social Service (ISS) Switzerland developed the eight-step model with local partners. The work was supported by concrete measures for the transnational care of children between the 15 countries of West Africa and Mauritania. Today, an inter-country referral mechanism, recognised by national and regional authorities as the West Africa Network for the Protection of Children (www.resao.org) supports more than 1,500 children a year. A similar manual has been adapted to address disparities in the treatment of vulnerable children in different regions of Switzerland. This international manual is the next step – enriched by the experiences and practices of ISS members worldwide.