Closing down institutions
Across Europe, there are still thousands of institutions where children are separated from their families and isolated from their community.
Most of these institutions are remnants of a former era, when they were designed and built according to one blueprint: grey, impersonal and immense. Such institutions predominate in the former Soviet Bloc countries, but there are also significant numbers of children still living in institutions in some Western European nations. Governments of the newer EU member states want to change their systems and this is driving a reassessment across the whole of Europe. Even in the older EU member states, questions are being asked about the continued use of large institutions to look after children.
But what do we mean by closing an institution? This does not mean emptying the building, locking the door and throwing away the key. In fact deinstitutionalisation is a broad programme working at many levels, to change attitudes, develop different ways of working with children, improve children’s and families’ access to services and ensure that every decision taken for children is made in their best interest. Our Director of Operations, Georgette Mulheir, has summarised this process as ten ‘elements’, which local authorities and practitioners find helpful in understanding how deinstitutionalisation works in practice:
- Awareness raising – about negative effects of institutionalisation, better alternatives, the process of change and roles of all those involved
- Managing the process – establishing appropriate and effective management structures at national and local level.
- Country analysis – evaluating the level of need for services across the country and the system that currently exists
- County level and institution level analysis. A more detailed analysis of what is happening in each county and each institution to be closed.
- Service design – on the basis of the analysis, it is now possible to design the services needed to replace the institution. This will include family support services, foster care and specialised care for children with particular needs.
- Planning the transfer of resources – assisting local authorities to plan, where appropriate, to transfer budgets, personnel and equipment from the institutions to the new services.
- Preparing and moving children – ensuring there is a proper individual assessment and care plan for every child. Involving children in comprehensive programmes to prepare them for the huge change in their lives
- Preparing and moving personnel – those personnel who can be redeployed in the new services (such as foster carers, day centre workers, etc.) are trained for the purpose. Those who cannot be redeployed are assisted to find alternative work.
- Logistical planning for the whole process – every detail is planned for to ensure that, as soon as the children are ready, they can be moved safely to their new placements and will receive all the support and care they need.
- Monitoring and evaluation – from the start we build in a system to monitor progress and to ensure that all our activities are benefiting the children involved.
Lumos helps to close down institutions by working at a policy and practical level.
At a policy level, we work with the European Commission and governments, providing expert advice on deinstitutionalisation programmes. We help them see how it is possible for these institutions to be replaced with a child-focused health, education and social protection framework which mean that most children can receive the care they need whilst remaining together with their families. Using our tried and tested approach, we ensure this change can be sustainable, even in a low-income country.
At a practical level, we are running pilot projects, partnering with local authorities and national governments, to demonstrate how the process should work in practice. We work with staff from the institutions, facilitating their understanding of the processes required. We provide support – online, on the phone and in person – to those on the ground who are working with children as they move out of institutions and into their new homes. And we demonstrate the value of family-based care, in terms of better outcomes for children, so we can help to change attitudes towards vulnerable children.
We do this because we believe that all children should be raised in a safe and caring family setting.
We believe that none should be locked away as a result of disability, ethnicity or poverty.
