Equity in Permanency

Definition
Equity in permanency refers to principles of child protection practice that prioritise the explorationof family placements,1 without discrimination of any kind, to achieve optimal long-term outcomes
for the child. The principles seek to empower child protection partners globally to have a child rights
approach, and promote policies and protocols that ensure all family placement options are explored
for any child who can no longer be cared for by their parents. Furthermore, equity in permanency
aims to access and connect with a child’s extended family both locally and overseas to provide thebest opportunity for them to be raised with a strong sense of identity, belonging, roots and culture.

Equity in Permanency: Why Now?
Global research indicates that children have a greater capacity to thrive when they are raised infamilies of origin, whenever it is safe and in their best interests. Child protection experts around theworld widely acknowledge that government entities and those responsible for the protection ofchildren should prioritise efforts to keep children with families, and offer increased support to theseplacements to ensure family members are able to fulfil their care responsibilities.2 While extensive
family finding and engagement is recognised as best practice, growing international research showsthat at the local level there may not be adequate support to achieve this when children in care havefamily across international borders.
Globally, 281 million people are living outside their country of origin.3 As a result, millions of children
have family connections that cross international borders. While the global movement of children
across borders is not a new phenomenon, few protection authorities have grown in their knowledge,
tools, or political will to seek family placement options in another country. Despite the growing
number of foreign-born populations in many countries, research conducted by ISS members
indicates only a small percentage of children in care have an international family placement option

Family placements can take different forms and denominations depending on each country specificities (e.g. kafalah
does often take the form of a family placement in countries whose legislations are based on or influenced by Sharia law ).
In international treaties, such as the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children it is usually referred to as kinshipcare (see para. 29 c)(i)).
2
See Public Law 110 - 351 - Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, available
at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/6893; Public Law 115 – 123 - Family First Prevention
Services Act (FFPSA), available at: https://capacity.childwelfare.gov/about/cb-priorities/family-first-prevention;
Administration for Children and Families. Informational Memorandum, available at: https://www.cwla.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/ACYF-CB-IM-20-09.pdf and The Case for Change - Independent Review into Children’s Social
Care, available at:https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20230308122442/https://childrenssocialcare.independentreview.uk/case-for-change/.
3
See World Migration Report 2022, available at: https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/.
1explored.4 Other investigations further highlight a dearth of policies to support international family
finding and engagement at a national, jurisdictional or institutional level.5 Child protection
practitioners may be unsure of how to abide by foreign regulations and laws associated withsecuring permanency for a child when working outside of their jurisdiction and without clear
guidelines informing practice.
Research findings also reveal deeply-rooted racial and ethnic biases that contribute to thesignificant hurdles that children of colour face in achieving permanency with family as compared totheir white counterparts.6 While race, ethnicity or nationality alone cannot be an indicator ofwhether a child has family overseas, failing to consider these elements compromises the ability ofchild protection systems7 to seek placement options that prioritise a child’s sense of identity, roots,
language and culture.
Legislating bodies around the world are beginning to demonstrate progression toward addressing
issues of racial equity among systematically excluded populations.8 Equitable access to kin inpermanency planning and decision making must form part of a child’s rights framework. It is crucial
to create new opportunities to move from the discourse of protection towards building capacity forchildren’s rights to guide practice. This includes the development of international guidance that
integrates and recognises the knowledge and lessons from each region. Ultimately, child protection
systems and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners must evolve their policies andpractices to fully explore family and kinship placement options when a child can no longer be cared
for by their parents, without discrimination of any kind.
ISS, an international network of members in nearly 125 countries who provide intercountry childprotection casework services, proposes the following Principles and Recommended Practices thatgovernments should prioritise to achieve equity in permanency for cross-border families.

See ISS/IRC Newsletter n. 262 of September – October 2022. Editorial available at: https://iss-ssi.org/issresources/editorials-articles-2/.
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See Equity in Permanency: Assessing the Scope of International Kinship Placements for Children in the U.S. Foster Care
System, available at:https://www.iss-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Report.Equity-in-Permanency_AssessingInternational-Placement-with-Kin-2.pdf; LITTLECHILD, B. & HOUSMAN, C. Applying Universal Principles of ‘Best Interest’:Practice Challenges across Transnational Jurisdictions, Cultural Norms, and Values, Children (2023), available at:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/3/537 and Cross-border child safeguarding: Challenges, effective social work
practice and outcomes for children, Children and Families Across Borders (2018), available at: https://assets.websitefiles.com/5f35add6489ebf598108eb78/60f4e08763657bb4c2811ef8_Cross%20Border%20Child%20Safeguarding%20%20Research.pdf.
6
See Disproportionality and race Equity in Child Welfare (2021), available at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/humanservices/disproportionality-and-race-equity-in-child-welfare.aspx.
7
References to ‘child protection systems’ throughout this document includes an entity or group of entities responsible for
implementing child protection measures, i.e., government agencies and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
implementation partners.
8
See Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform, available at: https://production-new-commonwealthfiles.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/202206/Kigali%20Declaration%20on%20Child%20Care%20and%20Protection%20Reform.pdf?VersionId=6_6fX1KMGJ7hQp
xX_Ju45uW5A4wdDUuP; Public Law 95 - 608 – Indian Child Welfare Act, available at:https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/dhs/icwa andhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-92/pdf/STATUTE-92-Pg3069.pdf; the Equality Act, available at:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, available at:https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A00274.
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Principles:
1. Children’s Rights (Arts. 3, 8, 20, 21 and 30 CRC): As declared in the UN Guidelines for theAlternative Care of Children and the 2019 Resolution of the United Nations General
Assembly on the Rights of the Child,9 it is the child’s right to live in a safe and stable family
home environment, for all decisions to emphasise the best interests of the child, andimportantly, for the child to be afforded the opportunity to maintain their identity. Every childalso has the right to participate in decisions that affect their life, permanent placement
opportunities included.

Recommended Practice: All child protection systems should implement clear policies
underpinned by a child rights approach to ensure family and kinship placements are exploredand prioritised above other alternative care placement options (such as placements with
non-relatives, foster care, institutional care) or other permanent child protection measuresuch as adoption. Child protection systems should make every effort to involve and promote
the child’s voice in decisions that will affect their life. This includes that they carry out bestinterests’ assessments and determinations and promote children’s right to family life andconnections to family, kinship, and culture wherever they are in the world. When considering
overseas placements, child protection systems and other involved authorities should
address discrepancies in legal effects deriving from the different forms that kinshipcare/family placements can take in different legislations. This is particularly relevant - yet
not exclusive - to cross-border kafalah placements.10
2. Equal Opportunity (Art. 9 par. 2 CRC): Child protection systems should create equitable
opportunities for families to participate in placement decisions for children who can nolonger be cared for by their parents, including family members who reside overseas.

Recommended Practice: All child protection system should explore family relations (art. 8
CRC) and kin connections, regardless of geographic location, when it is deemed to be in thechild’s best interests (art. 3 CRC). Child protection systems should utilise technology andalternative communication methods wherever possible and appropriate to consult withfamily members across borders when considering placement decisions for children who canno longer be cared for by their parents. This includes utilising professional interpretation
services to promote language access as well as utilising local professionals to strengthen
the family support system. It also requires a gender-based lens to consider the treatment ofgirls and young women vis-à-vis other groups. Also, in the case of a previous placement in
the child protection system of a country, where the child will no longer live with their family,

See Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2019, available at:https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3848250.
10
See Technical note: National family type kafalah, in Kafalah Preliminary analysis of national and cross-border practices(2020), available at: https://www.iss-ssi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ISS_Kafalah_ENG.pdf.
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all parties involved should be given the opportunity to be heard and provide their informed
consent.

3. Local expertise: Child protection systems should engage social workers or paraprofessionals
in the same country as overseas family members for identification and assessments forpotential placements.

Recommended Practice: Any time an overseas family member is located and expresses
interest in caring for a relative child who can no longer be cared for by their parents, a local
social worker or paraprofessional in that country should be engaged to conduct anassessment and to advise on local support services. This includes consideration of legallyavailable alternative care options in the receiving country. Local social workers orparaprofessionals should be utilised because they understand their national legal
frameworks, cultural values and language, systems and supports, and can conduct
appropriate national background checks. Contracted agencies should be experienced in childprotection support with verified credentials and professional profiles. As for any overseas
placements, communication between States is key. Hence, existing co-operation
mechanisms such as the one set in the HCCH 1996 Child Protection Convention should be
effectively implemented.
4. No Bias (Art. 2 CRC): Child Protection systems should work to address implicit andunconscious biases that may exist amongst key decision makers regarding the complexitiesof transitioning a child into a family placement overseas and within a system or culture thatmight differ from their own.

Recommended Practice: Child protection systems should promote training on systemic,
individual, and implicit and unconscious bias for professionals working at all levels. These
biases may prevent and discourage social workers, lawyers, and judges from recommendinga child be placed with family or kin overseas, even when a positive assessment
recommendation has been made. To overcome deeply held views on what constitutes thebest interests of a child when considering an overseas family placement, decision makers
must develop a keen awareness of how institutional and historical practices continue toinfluence whether or not an overseas kinship placement is viewed as viable.
5. Identity (Arts. 8 and 20 CRC): Child protection systems should prioritise a child’s access totheir culture, roots, language, extended family, community, and traditional land when making
placement decisions. This approach respects the child’s right to a robust family life andaffords them the opportunity to maintain their identity.

Recommended Practice: Every country’s child protection system should explore all potential
placement options that enable a child to remain within their extended family and culturalsystems, including the exploration of any potential family placement options overseas, when
deemed in their best interests. This also applies to cross-border kafalah placement, where
overseas solutions may have priority over national placements in case of strong family ties.
6. Adequate Planning: Child protection systems should always prepare a child for an
impending placement with family members overseas through the development of a‘Transition Plan’ that includes consideration of pre-placement support for carers to prepare
for the child’s arrival, and local post placement follow-up and connection to resources.

Recommended Practice: A comprehensive ‘Transition Plan’ should be developed by the childprotection system, local professional/s, the child’s current carer and prospective carer. The‘Transition Plan’ should include pre-placement support for carers, as well as time-boundcontingency plans agreed to by the sending and receiving authorities in the event of aplacement break down. It should also include a clear plan to safely move the child to the newhome, including ensuring a suitable travel companion. Consideration should also be given to
funded post-placement support and visits to ensure the child’s transition and carers are well
supported from the outset. It should also be ensured that the various forms of care have thesame legal conditions and opportunities for development. Also, in the case of a kafalah
placement, children and families should be prepared and supported before, during, and after
the placement. Indeed, pre-placement training of the kafil as for any other caregiver plays avital role in ensuring the successful integration of the child into their new family.
7. Accountability: Child protection systems should seek to improve data collection, information
management and reporting systems related to children without parental care in all settingsand situations to close existing data gaps and develop global and national baselines.

Recommended Practice: Recognising the critical gaps in national and international datacollection, further research, and capacity to monitor and report on child care and protection,
child protection systems should be able to account for children they are responsible for,including the recording of when and where children are placed out of their jurisdiction, acrossinternational borders, for the purposes of analysis and improvement of system outcomes. It
is important to establish systems for quantitative data collection as well as qualitative data,
including opportunities to gather knowledge and expertise from children and adolescents.
In light of the informal nature of many cross-border kafalah placements, data collection andeffective monitoring across borders are of utmost importance.

About ISS and the IRC:
International Social Service (ISS) is a professional and specialised global network of 132 members
founded in 1924. For almost 100 years, ISS has been serving the needs of children and families in
the areas of cross-border child protection, custody, and child abduction. ISS’s work in these mattershas primarily taken the form of individual case management with families, Child Protection
Authorities, and the Courts. Likewise, ISS has contributed to legislative advocacy and policy
development in co-operation with national, regional, and international bodies in child protection
and cross-border family disputes.
ISS also has a long history of close co-operation with the Hague Conference on Private International
Law (HCCH) and its Central Authorities through involvement in the practical operation of
conventions through our intercountry casework involving child protection. As stated in the HCCH

Practical Handbook on the Operation of the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention , ‘particulartasks may be performed directly by the Central Authority, or indirectly through public authorities orother bodies. Central Authorities will have recourse to bodies of uncontested competence in thefield, such as the International Social Service’.11
The International Reference Center for the rights of children deprived of their family (ISS/IRC) is a
program of the ISS General Secretariat based in Geneva. Through its publications, training
programs, and technical assistance, the ISS/IRC has been equipping alternative care and adoption
professionals across the world for more than 30 years. Likewise, the ISS/IRC has always been at theforefront of implementing international standards and raising awareness of the need to protect
children's rights and their well-being through its advocacy initiatives.
One of the ISS/IRC’s most recent achievements is the publication of a Preliminary analysis ofnational and cross-border practices on Kafalah, an extensive study on kafalah, a child protection
measure that is widely applied in countries whose legal system is based on or influenced by Sharia
law. This analysis aims to improve the understanding of this particular child protection measure andhence the well-being of all the children concerned in cross-border situations.

www.iss-ssi.org
See Practical Handbook on the Operation of the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention (p. 119), available at:https://assets.hcch.net/docs/eca03d40-29c6-4cc4-ae52-edad337b6b86.pdf.
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