The Know-How Center for Alternative Care for Children (KHC) started a joint research with the Childhood 2025 Coalition on the experience of the Coalition member organisations in their work on cases of separation prevention of children and their families in Bulgaria. The aim of the research is to analyse the factors that currently lead to separation of children and families, as well as the circumstances surrounding the decision to separate and the attitudes of professionals, parents and children.
The members of the Childhood 2025 Coalition work in support of children and families at risk, guided by the understanding that deinstitutionalisation does not end with the closure of old type residential institutions and that every separation – regardless of whether it is abandonment or removal of children, as well as what form of alternative care the child ends up in afterwards – negatively affects families and poses risks for children's development. That is why, as reform progresses, the Coalition is investing more and more focused efforts in making separation prevention a priority in national and local social, educational and mental health policies.
To be useful and effective, national and local policies need to be based not only on sound understanding but also on data analysis and assessment. However, data analisys and assesment are often lacking in Bulgaria, as shown by research on the deinstitutionalisation process conducted by the Know-How Centre between 2011 and 2021. According to the KHC, these gaps are also noticeable in the field of prevention: we cannot claim to have sufficient data and understanding of why, when and how children and families are separated in Bulgaria today.
To address this lack of data, to fill the knowledge gaps, and to support its advocacy efforts in the field of preventing unnecessary separation of children and families, the Childhood 2025 Coalition initiated research on the topic.
The study collects and summarizes the experiences of professionals working directly with at-risk children and families from the Coalition's member organisations. In addition, it analyzes the work of these organizations on over 1,400 cases from the past five years. The study includes four main thematic areas:
More information about the study can be found on the Know-how Centre for Alternative Care for Children's website here.
