Annex 1 - GLOSSARY
Alternative care. Alternative care may take the
form of:
- Informal care: any private arrangement pro-
vided in a family environment, whereby the
child is looked after on an ongoing or indef-
inite basis by relatives or friends (informal
kinship care) or by others in their individual
capacity, at the initiative of the child, his/her
parents or other person without this arrange-
ment having been ordered by an administra-
tive or judicial authority or a duly accredited
body;
- Formal care: all care provided in a family
environment which has been ordered by a
competent administrative body or judicial au-
thority, and all care provided in a residential
environment, including in private facilities,
whether or not as a result of administrative or
judicial measures 1 .
Asylum seekers. Individuals who seek safety
from persecution or serious harm in a country
other than their own and await a decision on
their application for refugee status 2 .
Best interests determination. A formal process
with strict procedural safeguards designed to
determine an individual child’s best interest for
particularly important decision affecting the
child, such as finding a durable solution 3 .
Child. Article 1 of the UNCRC defines who is
to be considered a "child" and states that: "For
the purposes of the present Convention, a child
means every human being below the age of
eighteen years unless, under the law applicable
to the child, majority is attained earlier".
Child-friendly spaces. These are safe spaces and
schools where communities create nurturing
environments for children to access free and
structured p