Family Support and Alternative Care: Tallinn Expert Meeting Report 2015

In May 2015, a high-level expert meeting on alternative care and family support took place in Tallinn, hosted by the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs and the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in collaboration with the Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk (EGCC) and the Children’s Unit in the CBSS Secretariat. Speakers and participants included representatives from governments, institutions, embassies, Ombudsoffices for children, the academia, national and international NGOs and civil society from the Baltic Sea Region: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation and Sweden. In addition, participants represented the UK, the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

This report presents the findings and learning gathered from the speakers and participants of the meeting. On May 6^th, the attendees endorsed the Tallinn Recommendations and Action Plan on Alternative Care and Family Support 2015-2020.

In preparation for the meeting, a regional mapping report was developed to inform about the situation of family support and alternative care in the Baltic Sea region.