Children and young people everywhere have a right to a supportive and healthy environment to grow up in. One of the biggest risks to this right is when children are not living with their family such as in foster care, this is where Article 25 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) comes in.
Article 25 focuses on the right of children placed in care for protection or treatment to have their placement reviewed regularly. But what does this mean in practice, and how does it translate into real-world actions and programs? In this guide, we'll explore how governments, groups like Save the Children Australia, and people like you can make a big difference in the lives of these children.
What does UNCRC Article 25 focus on?
This part of the UNCRC ensures that children who are placed in care facilities, for whatever reason, receive periodic reviews of their placement from the government. Article 25 also says that if their placement conditions aren’t good enough for children to develop fully safety steps should be taken to improve them.
How does it help kids who are displaced?
For kids who can't live with their families, Article 25 is an important safety net. Children are commonly displaced due to crisis or family difficulties and are particularly vulnerable after this. Through regular checkups and an agreed-upon standard of care, Article 25 helps make sure they have what they need for institutions to genuinely support their development and health.
Guidelines for review in article 25
Article 25 covers any place where children and young people are cared for on an ongoing basis that isn’t their family such as:
- Boarding Schools
- Care Homes
- Foster Care
- Adoptive Families
- Hospitals
- Prisons
- Rehabilitation Centres
- Detention Centres
These checks look at how the kids are doing. Are they healthy? Are they happy? Are they learning and growing? It's about making sure they're in the right place that's good for them.
What rights do kids have in foster care?
Children in foster care have their fundamental rights under the UNCRC like the rights to education, health, reasonable privacy, and protection from abuse and neglect. They should also be able to keep in touch with their family when it's safe and in their best interest to do so. Children and young people should also be given the opportunity for their opinions on their care to be listened to and taken seriously.
What role do governments play in Article 25?
Governments need to set up strong systems to check on these kids and make sure their care is satisfactory. They also must set up standards for institutions and people caring for children and ways to monitor and enforce them, as well as assist those caring for children to do so in the right way such as access to education on raising children, funding, and other resources.
How NGOs like Save the Children help
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Save the Children play a pivotal role in aiding governments to implement Article 25. We provide expertise, support for policy development, and direct assistance to children in care where needed most.
Our ‘Families First’ program in Indonesia, where a significant number of children are placed in orphanages despite having living parents, focuses on strengthening child protection systems and shifting the focus from institutional care to family and community-based care. The program has helped reform the child welfare system, ensuring that children grow up in environments conducive to their overall development.
Similarly, in Cambodia, our work to strengthen child protection systems helps prevent violence against children and supports family-based care, aligning with Article 25’s principles.
Help safeguard children in care’s rights
Article 25 is about ensuring young people in care are happy and safe. Through initiatives like Families First and our work in Cambodia, Save the Children Australia is working to uphold this right, work like this is only possible with your support.
Join us in our mission by donating or finding other ways to support – together, we can ensure a brighter, more secure future for every child.