Social Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Care Policies for Children in Kenya

Sammanfattning: The social phenomenon of children without parental care and those at risk of separation from their parents has gained considerable global attention in recent years. A key concern is the over-reliance on institutional care mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America as the default form of alternative care for such children. Extensive research points to mostly negative impact of separation of children from families and institutionalization of children which affects their health outcomes and development. In response to this global crisis, the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children were developed in 2010. Kenya domesticated the guidelines in 2014 and is in the process of implementation. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development and more specifically the Social Sustainability Principles are used in this study to assess the extent to which the UN Guidelines, Kenya Guidelines and implementation of alternative care of children in Kenya align to Social Sustainability. This research finds that the guidelines are highly aligned to social sustainability although their implementation points to major structural obstacles that if minimized will promote social sustainability of alternative care in Kenya. A coherent well-coordinated approach that takes a systems perspective and links to the mainstream social development agenda is recommended.