Abstract
Reflecting on the last decade, a promising trend is emerging in the promotion of family-based alternatives for children in Sri Lanka. Despite some plateauing due to certain humanitarian, environmental, financial and political issues, there is a move to reduce the number of children in residential care. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has a history of institutionalised care dating back to the nineteenth century and formalised care starting in the mid-twentieth century. Back then, the country faced many challenges including economic crises, a brutal war and a devastating tsunami that left thousands of children in desperate need for out-of-home placements; the only secure alternative being formal residential care. Since then, various legislative enactments were revised and passed for the care and protection of children. One of the most significant policies in relation to promoting family-based care is the National Alternative Care Policy for Children. This policy has sparked a fire across the Island drawing attention to the plight of some 10,632 children in institutionalised care and providing clear family-based alternatives. Despite a three-year delay, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant humanitarian crisis, action plans are now under way to implement the policy in all nine provinces. Additionally, new legislation on Foster Care is in the pipeline. During the last few decades, several research studies conducted in Sri Lanka have brought a variety of issues to light on the conditions of children in residential care and the devastating effects to their overall physical and mental health including a significant impact on development. Although residential care has improved in meeting a child’s basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and education, it still does not provide the individual attention a child needs to thrive. The country is no doubt moving towards family-based care, giving priority to family strengthening and strong gatekeeping mechanisms to prevent children from being unnecessarily separated from their families. The reduction in the number of institutions as well as in the number of child enrolment over the past 10 years attests to this. However, there is a long road ahead as Sri Lanka struggles to emerge out of a financial crisis with high inflation, making it difficult for people to buy essential goods and services. This crisis has affected many families, driving them to the breaking point and placing children more at the risk of separation. Moving forward, a collaborative force is needed to find solutions to these issues facing families, and there is hope as favourable prospects begin to appear in the horizon.
Interest about Alternative Care has accelerated over the last decade in Sri Lanka, especially with the world trending towards family-based care options for millions of children trapped within the institutions. During the last decade, Sri Lanka has taken significant steps to join these global efforts promoting family-based care and deinstitutionalisation resulting in a decrease in the number of children being institutionalised and a drop in the number of overall institutions. In 2013, there were 14,179 children living in 414 institutions (National Institute of Social Development, 2013) while in 2019, there were 10,632 in 379 Child Care Institutions (CCIs) (Department of Census and Statistics, 2019). There have been legislative changes promoting alternative care that have also contributed to this. The country does not have a gauge of what the figures are currently in 2023 but experts are speculating an increase in the number of children being institutionalised due to the current ground conditions after coming out of pandemic which started in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to plunging Sri Lanka into a dark abyss; a humanitarian crisis ensued affecting the lives of millions of families. Due to the crisis and economic deficits, Sri Lanka is currently witnessing more families seeking placement of their children at CCIs. Viable family-based options are needed soon to prevent an increase in the number of children being institutionalised and prevent a setback on the road towards deinstitutionalisation.
In Sri Lanka, children without parental care includes those who have faced economic deprivations, lost one or more parents, faced abandonment, lived in unsafe households, been abused, neglected, encountered domestic violence and also those whose parents have migrated for employment. Currently, the two main reasons for institutionalisation are poverty and family dysfunctions (National Institute of Social Development, 2013). However, it is interesting to note that only a fraction of these children are orphaned as approximately 90% have one or both parents (Department of Census and Statistics, 2019). This is a substantial reason as to why children within CCIs need to be reunited with family. A small percentage will need family-based alternative care that provides care and protection for those without biological parental care; it is important that the family-based care provides an environment of love and nurture for the children to thrive.
According to the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, alternative care is care that is extended when a child’s own family is unable to provide adequate care, abandons a child or relinquishes rights to care for the child (UN General Assembly, 2010). Additionally, Sri Lankan legislation on alternative care for children includes those who have been in contact or in conflict with the law within the juvenile justice system (Ministry of Women and Child Affairs Sri Lanka, 2017). Alternative care should uphold a child’s right to survival, protection, participation and development as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)).
Alternative care can be either ‘formal’ where children are placed with a recognised caregiver, regardless of the care arrangement and ‘informal’ arrangements where a child stays with friends or relatives willingly for recreational purposes and for reasons not in relation to a parents’ inability or unwillingness to give care and protection. Formal care can be either ‘family-based’ or ‘family-like’ care. Family-based options include formal and informal care arrangements where a child can stay connected to family, in an environment that is culturally familiar. Family-based care includes kinship care, foster care and adoption and family-like care includes all residential facilities that are not within a family but is meant to mimic a family (UN General Assembly, 2010). In Sri Lanka, the scope of alternative care for children without parental care include various forms of care arrangements that are family-based and family-like. Family-based care options are limited to formal and informal kinship care and local and foreign adoptions.
Throughout the history of the country, kinship care was heavily practiced in an informal manner. Informal kinship arrangements were common where families entrusted children to their friends, neighbours or extended relatives for a short- or long-term stay without any formal proceedings. Communities came together to contribute towards the raising of children. However, in the past two decades, the country has seen a shift in these practices where communities have become more urbanised and where a large contingency of people have joined the workforce locally and internationally. Families have started depending on more formal alternative care options such as formal kinship care and residential care. Formal kinship care is a type of family-based option within a child’s extended family or with friends identified as being close to the family who are familiar to the child. In Sri Lanka, formal kinship care arrangements are ordered by a court of law or a competent administrative body where a child is placed with relatives or friends (Children and Young Person’s Ordinance No. 48 of 1939).
Foster care is a family-based alternative and is defined as ‘situations where children are placed by a competent authority for the purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family other than the children’s own family that has been selected, qualified, approved and supervised for providing such care’ (UN General Assembly, 2010). Although Sri Lanka does not have a formalised foster care system, there is hope for one to be established in the country as comprehensive legislation is currently being considered. With adequate monitoring, foster care will give children a chance to live in a family environment until they are reunited back to their biological family or adopted to a loving, caring family.
As of 2012, about 8.7% of the total population of Sri Lanka above the age of 5 years live with a disability, 57% being male and 43% being female. Additionally, approximately 300,000 in the age of 8–60 years category have some form of disability (Department of Census, 2012). A high volume of children in institutions have special needs. According to a study done by the National Institution of Social Development, in 2013, 33% of children in CCIs had special needs and were being monitored by specialists in special needs services. From those with disabilities, 18.2% had psychological problems (National Institute of Social Development, 2013). There is a shortage of skilled teachers within CCIs in addition to limited curricula, lack of facilities and a poor-quality education system for those with disabilities. Therefore, it is important to invest in skilled educators who are trained in supporting those with special needs to provide them a quality education. Group foster care will provide either short-term or long-term care for those in special circumstances while retaining a family-based environment where children would receive specialised services and individual attention.
Adoptions, both local and international occur throughout the year in Sri Lanka. Local adoptions are handled by each individual province; each province has a unique system of taking care of requests for adoptions. The waiting lists of interested families and processing time vary per province. All foreign adoptions are handled by a centralised system at the Department of Probation and Child Care Services (DPCS) of the central government.
Family-like care placements include institutional care where children are cared for in a non-family-based atmosphere. In Sri Lanka, institutional care has been available for short-term or long-term stays in residential care facilities across the Island, the predominant residential care placement being at CCIs. Institutionalised care began during the mid-nineteenth century and formalised welfare facilities began in 1948 where the government established a welfare system in the country. Before a formalised system was established, informal alternative care arrangements existed for a very long time in the history of Sri Lanka. Alternative care has been an evolving process dating back to the era of the Veddas, the oldest community that inhabited the land before 500 BCE when the Indo-Aryans settled in Sri Lanka, then known as Lanka Deepa and Thambapani. The Vedda community, the indigenous people group now representing less than 1% of the population had robust child-rearing practices. Vedda families lived with other Vedda families and children would be collectively cared for as there was a sense of cooperation and solidarity. There was no need for formalised care as informal arrangements were common. Entire villages raised children without minding whose children they were (Roar Media, 2017).
Sri Lanka has several legislative enactments overseeing children needing alternative care such as the Children and Young Person’s Ordinance (CYPO) No. 48 of 1939, Adoption Ordinance (Amendment) Act,
The Orphanages Ordinance No. 22 of 1941 as amended in 1946 was established to make provision for the registration and control of orphanages and institutions. It also provides for the boarding, care and maintenance of children who are orphaned and deserted. Steps have been taken by provincial councils to introduce Child Development Charters and Statutes to cater to orphaned, abandoned, destitute, victims of abuse and teenage mothers.
The probation system started with the Probation Ordinance in 1944 and the DPCS was established on the 1st of October in 1956. The DPCS oversees operations of CCIs in the country where family-like care is provided to children.
The CYPO of 1939 came into effect in the 1950s setting legal procedures to deal with ‘deprived’ and ‘delinquent’ children and young persons (Children and Young Person’s Ordinance No. 48 of 1939). This Ordinance has been the gold standard of practice of the law towards these categories of children. Several amendments have come to this Ordinance since then. According to the general principles of the CYPO, the court must consider the welfare of a child or young person at all times. A court can make an interim order for a child to be kept at a place of safety in a relative’s house or with a ‘Fit Person’ until a final order about the child is made. A small financial contribution is given to a fit person to care for a child (Children and Young Person’s Ordinance No. 48 of 1939).
The Adoption of Children (Amendment) Ordinance, Act, No. 15 of 1992 states that an adoption order is issued in favour of non-Sri Lankan citizen applicant and who is not domiciled or residing in Sri Lanka only if no other citizen or resident or a person domiciled in Sri Lanka has applied for adoption of the same child.
Global research over the past decades has highlighted the detriments of living in institutions which impact the developmental trajectory of children. Several research publications within Sri Lanka have highlighted the plight of children living in institutions emphasising that family-like care does not provide a family-based environment for children and young persons. Due to such interests and empirical evidence, there has been an intense focus on expanding family-based alternatives and reducing placements in residential care. Passionate advocates began conversations that led to the penning of a key policy, the National Alternative Care Policy for Children in Sri Lanka which was approved by Cabinet in 2019 (Ministry of Women and Child Affairs Sri Lanka, 2017). As a result, Sri Lanka is going through a paradigm shift where various stakeholders including governmental, non-governmental and civil organisations are collaborating to promote family-based alternatives and to strengthen families in order to encourage them to take care of their children in their own homes. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Social Empowerment took a significant step in launching the action plans of the National Alternative Care Policy for Children for all nine provinces under the patronage of the state minister honourable Mrs
Family strengthening programmes have increased all across the Island-nation to support and empower families to take care of their children in the comfort of their own family environment, whenever possible in order to minimise out-of-home placements. A wide range of these programmes are being offered by various INGOs and NGOs such as afterschool care, day care and sponsorship in an effort to keep families together by caring for their overall needs such as health, nutrition and education. This is positively influencing gatekeeping mechanisms so that only the most essential and suitable alternative care placements take place. Additionally, the government, with the help of other stakeholders have ramped up efforts to do more preventative work to educate and empower families to take care of their children. These include parenting workshops, vocational support, mentoring and coaching. Stakeholders have started self-sustainable projects such as home gardening, raising farm animals, sewing, pottery and other small and medium industries so families have a sustainable livelihood. School-based projects are also under way where teachers, students and parents are being educated on safeguarding, privacy, social issues and other pertinent topics to empower children to protect themselves.
Due to the humanitarian crisis, it has become difficult for a number of families to make ends meet as the cost of living has skyrocketed. According to a report by Reuters, the economy was not doing well before the pandemic. During the pandemic, in September of 2021, Sri Lanka’s National consumer price index climbed to 73.7% from a year earlier. The food price inflation rose to 85.8% and non-food inflation increased to 62.8%. Although inflation had decreased over the last 2 years, inflation in May 2023 was hovering at 30.6% which is still relatively high compared to 2019 (Reuters, 2022).
Although statistically there has been a reduction in the number of children being institutionalised and a decrease in CCIs, the country faced a humanitarian crisis soon after the COVID-19 pandemic and is still trying to recover from it. During that time, the Sri Lankan Rupee depreciated to such a point that it drove families to serious deprivations. In 2021, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) developed the first official national Multidimensional Poverty Index (national MPI) for Sri Lanka and this report has revealed that more than 4 in 10 children under the age of 5 years are being deprived of several elements that are important to their well-being, specifically nutrition, care and stimulation and therefore are ‘multidimensionally poor’. Multidimensional child poverty is much higher than the national average based on the national MPI, with 1 in 6 people living in poverty. Moving forward, there is immense scope to develop more family-based alternative care options.
Also it is important to note that research indicates that children in CCIs in Sri Lanka are at risk for mild–severe mental health disorders (UNICEF, Sri Lanka, 2021). These findings correspond with the global data as well. If this is the case, then this should be classified as urgent, and priority should be given to investigate this. The legal provisions for the care and protection of children have mandated that children should be given out-of-home placements that enhance their well-being and not go against it. If they are at risk for mild to severe mental health disorders within CCIs, then more family-based alternatives should be explored, immediately to prevent such occurrences.
When a child turns 18 years, he or she must find alternative living arrangements according to the government regulations as care in CCIs is limited up to 18 years, when a child becomes an adult. Services for care-leavers have been scarce however Island-wide. This has posed a risk for children who do not have a family to turn to and are at-risk of dropping out of an education. They also become vulnerable to societal issues that may pose a grave threat to their lives. There are 18-year-olds who are still struggling to complete Ordinary level examinations and others who may not have completed their Advance levels. Although some steps have been taken to support 18-year-old care-leavers, additional efforts are needed to provide safety nets to ensure smooth transition beyond institutionalisation.
Outreach to the Judiciary should be a vital part of the process where seamless transitions of children can take place. A strong communication system must be put in place where children are placed in family-based case in a manner that does not add to their struggles, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially.
Conversations about reintegration and reunification should occur from the moment they are separated from parental care and not after they have been placed for the duration of their placement order. This is imperative as the end goal must be plain in sight.
Expanding the workforce in child protection and welfare is crucial as there is a shortage across the country. This shortage of workforce directly impacts children on multiple levels and therefore needs urgent attention.
Moving forward, it is recommended that all stakeholders join together as one force to support a national movement of promoting family-based case for children by assessing the ground situation and formulating a plan to spread out resources where services are not duplicated but multiplied out. Without a thorough mapping system of resources and needs per district, it is difficult to gauge the need as some areas of the country may have an abundance of resources while many rural areas of the land including the plantations sector and very small islands off the coast lacking in resources. Therefore, a national baseline mapping system is needed to evaluate where there is a surplus of resources and where there are deficits. This would be a first step in strengthening families and communities.
Deinstitutionalisation maybe the goal of a nation but it will not occur overnight. Reintegration is not a simple process where children can be quickly placed in families. Robust mechanisms should be in place to ensure that families are able to cope after their children return to them. This needs to be thoroughly looked at in a 360-degree manner. Families cannot be burdened to breaking point as the cycle of institutionalisation may reoccur which defeats the purpose of deinstitutionalisation. Instead, families need to be empowered with viable means to sustain themselves and their children. Sri Lanka is strong when families are strong, and children have safe environments to thrive. There is a long road ahead, but progress is inevitable as the plight of thousands of children have sparked a fire in many and the nation pushes towards family-based alternatives.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
