Volunteer Legal Guardianship for Unaccompanied Young People: An evaluation of the guardianship system in North Rhine – Westphalia
SUMMARY
This research project was carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Children, Families, Refugees and Migration of North Rhine – Westphalia, Germany’ s most populous state in the north of the country. The goal was to look into different guardianship practices for unaccompanied and separated children to assess their efficiency and impact on children’ s lives. The project explored the pros and cons of assigning guardianship responsibilities for unaccompanied young people between the ages of 16 and 18 to volunteer guardians.
The study explores how young people experience and assess their relationship with their volunteer guardians and the support they receive. It also summarises guardians’ perspectives on how they can improve their services to efficiently support and protect young people in their care. It looks into the practices of volunteer guardians in various municipalities and the structural elements of a guardianship system that are key to sustainability and efficiency. Participation and empowerment of young people throughout the appointment procedure and the entire guardianship process is also examined.
Country: Germany Location: North Rhine-Westphalia
Target group: Unaccompanied children between the ages of 16 and 18
Implemented by: Institut für Soziale Arbeit e. V.( ISA)
Funded by: Government of North Rhine – Westphalia( Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2017
Contact person: Dr. Christina S. Plafky, ISA e. V., Head of Research, Division of Child and Youth Studies, Christina. plafky @ isa-muenster. de
The evaluation highlights the positive impact of volunteers, which is to be attributed mainly to the development of personal relationships between guardians and young people, whilst also stressing that volunteer guardianship services cannot replace but only complement guardianship services offered by qualified professionals. The study also highlights the need to establish an efficient system for the recruitment, training, professional supervision and monitoring of volunteer guardians.
KEY TOPICS
ALTERNATIVE CARE FOR UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN CASE MANAGEMENT PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT FORMAL EDUCATION INFORMAL EDUCATION VOCATIONAL TRAINING TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD STAFF TRAINING CHILD PARTICIPATION PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP LEGAL AID ACCESS TO INFORMATION
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