National Council for Children Services Initiates Plans to Phase Out Children’s Homes in Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya — The National Council for Children Services (NCCS) has launched sensitization programs aimed at transitioning children from existing children’s homes into family and community settings. The initiative involves consultations with government officials, religious leaders, elders, and community members to develop care reforms for a smoother transition for children.

According to the Kenya News Agency, Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Florence Bore earlier this month indicated the government’s intention to close all private children’s homes and replace them with state-owned public children’s rescue centers. Bore cited poor management and lack of proper oversight in private centers as facilitating child trafficking.

As of November 2022, data from the Social Protection Department indicates that between 45,000 and 50,000 children are living in approximately 855 private charitable children’s institutions, with others residing in government-run facilities. There is growing consensus among stakeholders that children in institutional care settings experience slower psychological growth compared to those in families.

NCCS Chief Executive Officer Abdinoor Mohamed, speaking at a sensitization forum for Garissa and Wajir counties, highlighted that the new reforms align with global trends favoring family and community-based care over institutional settings. “Through empirical research, it has been established that children thrive, grow, and live better and more happily in family and community settings,” said Mohamed.

Mohamed further elaborated on a 10-year strategy stemming from resolutions made at the 2019 United Nations’ General Assembly, aimed at transitioning as many children as possible from institutional to family care. The CEO noted that various methods such as foster care, kinship care, adoption, Kafalah (the Islamic equivalent of foster care), and supported independent living will be employed to integrate children into families.

NCCS will also ensure the well-being of these children in their new homes through regular monitoring by child officials. Before transitioning, children will undergo psychological preparation to better adapt to their new family and community settings.

NCCS Board Chairperson Bishop Bernard Kariuki stressed the importance of familial environments for the emotional and psychological well-being of children. “We need to start having these children and take care of them because they are our future generation,” said Kariuki, adding that the government has initiated the Inua Jamii program to provide stipends to caregivers of orphaned children.

Kariuki also encouraged relatives with children in institutional homes to make plans to integrate them into their families, underlining the need for societal collaboration to make the reforms successful.