The Transition Roadmap journey begins with Phase 1, which focuses on helping leaders understand why they should transition from residential care to family- and community-based care. Once leaders understand the reasons for transition, they can work towards reaching a consensus to shift their organization to this model.
Phase 1 includes five critical key points.
Learn the Reasons for Transition
This section of the roadmap is so the organization leaders can have a clear understanding of why it’s important to transition to family-base care. This includes a deep-dive into the impacts of institutional care and the benefits of family-based care.
Academic research shows that breakdown in families is a significant root cause of children being placed in institutional care aside from poverty, disease, death, and displacement. Separation often leads to negative outcomes for children, such as poor physical and mental health, disrupted education, and social dislocation.
This portion of the roadmap includes an activity where leaders get to identify the root causes of separation they see in their own communities and with the children they serve.
Understanding the Legal Framework
Globally, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children set out the principles and standards for the protection and care of children, including the transition process.
Locally, each country has its own laws and policies that govern child protection and care. In Kenya, the Children Act and the National Care Reform Strategy for Children in Kenya provide a legal framework for the protection and care of children. WezaCare Solutions—a subsidiary organization of 1MILLIONHOME—works in partnership with the Kenyan government to ensure every organization we work with is in compliance with this legislation.
Understanding and following these laws is important to ensure that the transition process is carried out in a legal and ethical manner.
Key Stakeholder Engagement
Early key stakeholder engagement is crucial to the success of the process, as it provides an opportunity to listen, learn, understand, and build empathy. By creating a participatory approach, all stakeholders, including children, staff, board members, donors, and the community, can feel involved in the process.
Engaging stakeholders early in the transition process allows for open conversations, and communicates they are cared for. If an organization were to wait until the end to start having these conversations, stakeholders could feel like decisions were made without their input or thought to how things might affect them.
Decision Making Process
It’s important organizations make a deliberate decision to comply with the necessary reforms and laws, both globally and within their local context. This is because there is a phenomenon called “decision paralysis” or “decision fatigue,” where people avoid making decisions altogether.
To avoid this, leaders must choose to move forward and set a clear foundation. This may involve getting support from key stakeholders, such as the board and donors, to ratify the decision and ensure that it is safe and effective.
Making the Decision
To move forward to the next phase, a decision must be made, written down, and shared with key stakeholders inside and outside the organization.
It’s unnecessary to address every question, worry, or danger before making the decision. The second phase of the plan will ensure that the decision is put into action securely and efficiently.
It can be tempting for organizations to want to skip Phase 1, and start directly with preparing and implementing. Phase 1 is crucial to building a strong foundation for an organization’s transition, and it’s important to trust the process. This phase allows for deep and meaningful conversations that will prepare everyone involved for the transition. Organizations must trust the process, and start slow when they are readying for transition to family-based care.