As mentioned in previous articles, RELAF and UNICEF Mexico, along with the Mexican government, have been developing a technical cooperation in order to implement and strengthen the Foster Care Programmes at federal and state levels since May 2016. Work on the federal level is being done jointly with the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and with the National DIF (the National System for the Integral Development of Children); at state level, we are working together with five DIF agencies: Mexico City, Tabasco, Morelos, Campeche and Chihuahua.

The goal is to establish pilot foster care programmes in these states. As part of this process, working teams were formed and foster care manuals were produced. The teams were trained on the practical steps for the implementation of all stages of a foster care programme. This helped enhance the teams' practices while supervising their interventions and supporting them so that they could incorporate standards and procedures with a rights-based approach, in light of the aforementioned manuals.

Throughout the cooperation, the teams acquired practical experience in all the processes of foster care. Currently, the teams are undergoing the final phase of the project, which involves the monitoring of the working plan and the conclusion of the foster care processes. Previous stages already experienced by the teams included an initial stage to call, evaluate and train foster families, and an execution stage. During the latter, a work plan was prepared, children were introduced to their foster families, and the teams monitored the foster care process.

For the next June, we expect to have a closure event in which we can show the results of these two years of technical cooperation. A systematisation will be prepared to collect the results of the process and evaluate it. This systematisation will provide the basis to project the continuity of the process. Next, we share the results up to April:

RELAF and UNICEF Mexico, along with the Mexican government, are developing a technical cooperation in order to implement and strengthen the Foster Care Programmes in Mexico, both at federal and state levels. Work on the federal level is being done jointly with the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and with the National DIF (the National System for the Integral Development of Children); at state level, we are working together with five DIF agencies: Mexico City, Tabasco, Morelos, Campeche and Chihuahua. The goal is to train the technical teams on the implementation of all the processes of a foster care programme while strengthening their practices, supervising their interventions and supporting them so that they can incorporate standards and procedures with a rights-based approach, in light of the manuals prepared for the implementation of the Foster Care Programmes. The states are currently in the execution phase, which involves the preparation of a work plan, the introduction of children to their foster families, and the monitoring of the foster care processes. The initial stage to call, evaluate and train the foster families has already been finished.

During the second semester of the year, considerable advances have been made in a country whose states did not have Foster Care Programmes: the construction and establishment of the programmes are underway, tools have been prepared and the teams have been trained. In this sense, the results of the year are positive: 33 foster families were evaluated and, among them, 19 were trained and 12 were certified. In addition, 13 children are living with their respective foster families.
All of this was achieved in a constantly challenging context but also in a situation in which the children, the families and the local working teams have shown a great deal of commitment. During the next year of work, we will continue to broaden the results, reaching and training more families and fostering more children.

As mentioned in previous newsletters, RELAF and UNICEF Mexico are currently carrying out a technical cooperation project for the implementation and strengthening of Foster Care Programmes in Mexico, both at national and state levels. In this sense, we are working at a national level with the Federal Attorney for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, as well as with the National DIF office. At a state level, we are providing support to DIF offices in Mexico City, Morelos, Tabasco, Campeche and Chihuahua. The goal of this first stage is to guide and strengthen the practices of the Foster Care Programme teams in the implementation of the initial stage of the programmes, identifying their standards and procedures.

During April, May and June, we met several times, virtually and in-person, with the Federal Attorney’s office and with the DIF offices. The virtual meetings were held via the Centre of Excellence for Children’s (CEN) virtual platform, which is why the information on these meetings can be found in the CEN section in this newsletter.

On April 20, the Foster Care Programme was presented to judges and institution directors. This presentation included the participation of the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Childcare and Protection System of Campeche and of representatives from DIF Campeche’s Child Welfare Agency, as well as the participation of Matilde Luna (Director of RELAF) and Fernanda López Portillo (RELAF’s Project Coordinator in Mexico).

On April, 21 the training for the development of technical assistance for the implementation of the Foster Care Programme in the state of Campeche was carried out. Judges and representatives from institutions and from the Campeche Attorney’s office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents took part in the training, as well as Teresita Rodríguez Chi and Matilde Luna.

Furthermore, DIF Mexico City carried out the foster family recruitment and briefings for the ones that showed up. These activities included the participation of Oscar Melchor, Psychology Coordinator of the Mexico City Attorney’s office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, and of the foster care team of the Federal Attorney’s office, which presented the Foster Care Programme to the families.

During May 2, we began providing technical support to the state of Morelos. Elena Cepeda de León, DIF Morelos President, Matilde Luna, Director of RELAF, and Paula Ramírez España, from UNICEF Mexico, took part in the activities, as well as the technical teams from DIF’s different areas. We provided training regarding the Foster Care model that will be implemented in the state.

With regards to the state of Tabasco, we are very glad to let you know that the Foster Care Programme (FCP) under the name “Familias de Corazón” (Families from the Heart) was launched. The launching event was carried out on June 27 with the presence of Arturo Núñez Jiménez (Governor of the State of Tabasco) and his wife, Laura Barrera Fortoul (General Director of the National DIF), Christian Skoog (UNICEF Representative in Mexico), Fernanda López Portillo (RELAF Project Coordinator in Mexico), Martha Lidia López Aguilera de Núñez (Director of DIF Tabasco), Daniel Ponce Vázquez (Coordinator for the Linking of Governmental Dependencies and Orders, from SIPINNA), Adriana García Muñoz (Executive Secretary of SIPINNA), Delfilia Vadillo (State Attorney for the Protection of Families and Children’s Rights), Ángel Solís Carvallo (Secretary of Education of Tabasco), Gerardo Gaudiano Rovirosa (Municipal President of the Centre) and Gerardo Ignacio Olan Morales.

The FCP offers family-based care options for the children and adolescents who are under residential care provided by the State and also for migrant children.

Regarding the support we provide at a federal level, on May 31 a team coordination meeting was held between the social integration area, under the responsibility of José Luis García, and the Federal Attorney’s office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, represented by Fernando Negrete. The coordination will strengthen the work with foster families and with the families of origin in order to guarantee the comprehensive protection of the children.

With respect to our work with the Mexican civil society, on March 31 the Second Meeting of the Network of Civil Society Organisations was carried out in Monterrey, Nuevo León, with the aim of reinvigorating the different efforts done to guarantee the right to family and community life of children deprived of parental care or at risk of losing it. For this purpose, the Network’s lines of action were revised. The meeting included the presence of the Quinta Carmelita Foundation, Back2Back Mexico, the Juconi Foundation, ABBA, Amigo Daniel A.C., RELAF, academicians, and governmental representatives. The Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México, REDIM), Save the Children Mexico, SOS Children’s Villages Mexico and the Quiera Foundation all participated virtually.

During the first trimester of the year, we made several progresses in the Mexico project. Matilde Luna (RELAF's Director) took part in a very intense work schedule with RELAF's local Project Coordinator, Fernanda López. This schedule included meetings with federal and state authorities, with UNICEF's Representative in Mexico, Christian Skoog, and with the foster care pilot programmes teams and other key actors.

Regarding the support to foster care pilot programmes implemented by the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, by DIF Mexico City and by DIF Tabasco, RELAF produced a manual for every pilot programme. These tools were presented to the technical teams, which gave their feedback on the document that will guide the procedures. All three teams are in the phase of recruiting foster families and, thus, will begin the foster care processes.

Regarding the federal agenda, RELAF and UNICEF met at the General Direction for Social Integration with the team in charge of the Social Assistance Centres for children, institutions that are key in the development of the foster care pilot plan. Within this framework, several orphanages were visited since the beginning of the project. Support was also provided to the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, which is under the direction of Fernando Negrete (Director for the Restitution of Rights to Children), in order to set the strategy to recruit families.

Finally, a day's work was carried out with the teams of DIF Mexico City's residential care entities in order to sensitise them about the effects and harms of institutionalisation, especially on young children.

On a federal level, the issue of migrant children and the implementation of alternative care have been a key point in RELAF's agenda. The protection measures for migrant children and the implementation of a foster care programme were discussed with the Special Protection Commission. This was done by videoconference, which included the participation of the Federal Attorney for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, Dora Giusti (Protection Officer for UNICEF Mexico), Matilde Luna (RELAF's Director) and Vicenzo Castelli (President of the On the Road Onlus organisation). The Federal Attorney's Office team also took part, with the participation of the General Director for the Authorisation, Register, Certification and Supervision of the Centres, Fernando Negrete (General Director for the Restitution of Rights to Children and Adolescents), and Carlos Manzo (General Director of Interinstitutional Relations and Policies).

We would like to make available to you two documents produced by RELAF, UNICEF LACRO and Save The Children: a Handbook of international human rights standards applicable to migrant children and adolescents, and an analysis on the context, service responses and protection policies in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.

In Tabasco, an agenda shared with Vincenzo Castelli was added to the pilot programme agenda, which focused on presenting the Handbook to the team of the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and to the members and representatives of SIPINNA (the state's Comprehensive Child Protection System).

Matilde Luna and the expert met with DIF Tabasco's President and with UNICEF Mexico representatives in order to support the creation of an attention model for unaccompanied migrant children in which the foster care pilot programme is complemented with open residential care facilities for teenagers.

In the case of Mexico City, technical assistance has strengthened the team responsible for the pilot project and other DIF Mexico City professionals that work in the areas of prevention and promotion policies.

All three pilot programme teams (the one at federal level, the one for Mexico City and the one for the state of Tabasco) are currently recruiting families.

In addition to this, UNICEF Mexico and RELAF have committed to provide technical support for the implementation of foster care programmes in three states: Campeche, Morelos and Chihuahua.

In the case of Campeche, RELAF and UNICEF met with DIF Campeche's President, Christelle Castañon de Moreno, with her team, with DIF Campeche's General Attorney, teacher Teresita de Atocha Rodríguez Chi, with the Director of the state's Family Development System, Silvia Eloisa Parrao Arceo, and with the Vice Director of the Psychosocial Attention Centre for Children and Adolescents (CAPANNA) and her team. These meetings had the objective of revising the situation in Campeche and preparing the work strategy. On the day of the meetings, we visited two orphanages where children from 0 to 18 years of age live.

Regarding Morelos, RELAF and UNICEF met with Lic. Rocío Álvarez Encinas (General Attorney for the Defense of the Minor and the Family of DIFEM DIF Morelos), with Dr. Amanda de los Ángeles Gil Castañon (Director of the Social Assistance Centre CAS), and with Lic. Celeste García Reyes (in charge of the Unit of Certification and Monitoring of Family Alternatives). During the meeting, the situation of Morelos was analysed in order to provide support to the foster care pilot programme focusing on children from 0 to 3 years of age and on children that have been living in institutions for a long time.

During November, we carried out the third and fourth training sessions on foster care organised by RELAF and Hope & Homes For Children, along with UNICEF Mexico, Maestral and DIF Tabasco. The third training session took place on November 8 and included the participation of the DIF Tabasco team. It focused on the practice of foster care in emergency situations and on the foster care provided to children with disabilities.

The fourth training session with DIF Tabasco was carried out on November 28. From the revision of the case management, the participants were trained on the importance of having individualised working plans and prepared an initial work schedule for the implementation of a pilot foster care programme.

Likewise, we organised two training sessions with the DIF Mexico City team on monitoring and evaluation of the pilot foster care project. Carolina Bascuñán, RELAF's consultant, made a presentation on the importance of producing a model to monitor and evaluate the project. The urgent issue of having indicators with a rights-based approach was addressed and the team prepared an initial set of them.

On December 8, the First Meeting of the Network of Civil Society Organisations was carried out in order to reactivate the efforts regarding the guarantee of the right to family and community life of children deprived of parental care or at risk of losing it.

Along with RELAF members, more than 15 representatives were present at the event from other NGOs, such as the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico (Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México - REDIM), Save the Children Mexico, SOS Children's Villages Mexico, Back2Back Mexico and the Quiera Foundation.  The goal of the meeting was to move forward in the development of concrete deinstitutionalisation experiencies by resuming the efforts made by the Mexican civil society in 2012. These efforts intended to form a group of organisations and entities with the aim of advocating for the adaptation of the comprehensive child protection systems in the Mexican states. In this sense, the current situation and the advances achieved in the last years were analysed and the lines of action to work on as a Network were agreed on. In order to do so, experiences developed by networks from other countries were examined along with their reach and impact on the local and national deinstitutionalisation processes.

On October 27 and 28, the Sistema  Nacional de Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (the National System for Integral Family Development, DIF) organized the First National Meeting on Foster Care in order to establish guidelines for the alternative care of children. National and international experts explained the situation of children and adolescents without parental care in Mexico, as well as foster care strategies to establish these protective measures.

Matilde Luna, Director of RELAF, gave three lectures to Attorneys for Children of the Mexican Federation (32 states). Standards for practices and programme developments were discussed, as well as the challenges of building a comprehensive alternative care policy based on family and community life. Meanwhile, the Federal Attorney for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, Nelly Montealegre, stressed the need to carry out a comprehensive deinstitutionalisation programme that includes the deinstitutionalisation of children and adolescents in temporary foster families.

Several persons of reference took part of the meeting, including: Christian Skoog, UNICEF Representative in Mexico; Dora Giusti, Protection Chief for UNICEF Mexico; Ricardo Antonio Bucio Mujica, Executive Secretary of the National System of Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents; Carmen Silveira de Oliveira, former National Secretary for the Promotion of Children’s Rights of Brazil; Cristian Allende; former Vice Secretary for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina; and Isabel Soto, advisor to the National Institute for Children and Adolescents of Uruguay.                                                                      

Among the work we are carrying out in Mexico, we would like to highlight the two training sessions conducted with teams from the Foster Care Pilot Programmes. The first module was conducted by Sonia Barrientos, member of RELAF’s Consultative Council, and focused on recruiting, evaluating and selecting foster families, as well as their subsequent training. The second module was conducted by Cristian Allende, who was responsible for the preparation of the work plan and the presentation and monitoring of the foster care processes.

During August, RELAF continued its technical cooperation together with UNICEF México, several DIF offices, the Attorney’s Offices, and the civil society.

On the 18th, we participated in the Forum on Foster Care and the Right of Children and Adolescents to Family Life in León (Guanajuato). This event made it possible to share foster care experiences, both national and international, and to exchange different perspectives regarding the implementation of programmes and policies that more efficiently meet the needs of children.

The Director of the Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Guanajuato (Guanajuato State Commission on Human Rights), Guanajuato's State Attorney’s Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, and representatives from RELAF, Terra Dos Homens, SOS Children's Villages Mexico and Fundación Juconi, among others, discussed issues such as the importance of networking, family reintegration and the independent life of adolescents.

Within the framework of technical cooperation that RELAF has been undertaking along with UNICEF México, a project that has set as one of its goals the creation of pilot programs, three training sessions were given on alternative foster care with the Mexico City DIF (National System for Integral Family Development) with the objective of starting to train the technical teams on the concepts and methodologies for the implementation of foster care programmes.

These working sessions were carried out with the technical team of Mexico City DIF, and mainly focused on defining a profile of the population to which the agency provides assistance. A review was done of the workflow needed for working with children and adolescents without parental care, in order to understand the processes and actions already in place, as well as those that should be put into use to guarantee the right to family and community life for all children.

RELAF participated in the workshops promoted by the Buró Estratégico de Expertos de Ciudad de México (Strategic Bureau of Experts of Mexico City) along with the DIF. The workshops' topics were the implementation of the Law on Alternative Care and the Standards for the Monitoring of the Casas de Asistencia Social (CAS, Welfare Centers).

The authorities, representatives, and staff from the CAS talked about the procedures carried out to ensure and strengthen the protection of children and adolescents. In this session, Gaudencio Rodriguez, Advisor for the State of Guanajuato DIF talked about his experience as a consultant for the production of the protocol for the Assistance of Children and Adolescents, which promotes the coordination of different sectors of the population.

In July, Matilde Luna (Expert and Director of RELAF), Carolina Bascuñán and Laura Martínez (the Project’s Thematic Consultants), travelled to Mexico, where they kept an intense work agenda, consisting mainly of meetings and training sessions.

On July 20, a workshop was held for the technical team of DIF Mexico City and for the multidisciplinary team of the Directorate of Protection Measures and Restition of Children's Rights of the Federal Attorney's Office for the Protecion of Children of the National DIF.The workshop focused on the main aspects to consider when implementing a pilot foster care programme. The importance of these pilot programmes within the process of deinstitutionalisation was stressed, and the guidelines and standards necessary to plan a pilot programme were revised. The need to work alognside the children in these processes was also stressed.

The pilot programme developed by the National Office is aimed at unaccompanied migrant children, being the first programme undertaken by the newly appointed Attorney General. The multidisciplinary team, along with the representatives from RELAF and UNICEF, discussed the areas of opportunity and support that are required to ensure a model that is not only new to the country, but that serves a highly vulnerable population.

Regarding the work meetings held with UNICEF Mexico, on one hand Matilde Luna and Dora Giusti, UNICEF Chief Protection Officer for Mexico, met with Attorney Nelly Montealegre Díaz. This meeting aimed at providing technical advice to help the different States in the implementation of foster care programmes within the framework of alternative care, as established by the law. Overall, there was an agreement to create training tools and supporting materials to disseminate these models.

On the other hand, at a meeting convened by UNICEF Mexico, Matilde Luna and the thematic consultants from RELAF met with government officials and representatives of the Mexican civil society. At the meeting, the strengthening of the protection systems was discussed, both in relation to the comprehensive protection of children as well as to the special protection in the case of violations of rights. In this context, the promotion of actions to enhance comprehensive policies for children and adolescents without parental care and the implementation of alternative care programmes for them were discussed.

Closing the agenda, RELAF and UNICEF met with the director of REDIM, Juan Martín Pérez García, in order to evaluate and involve the Mexican network for children's rights in the process.

We will continue to inform you on the latest developments regarding this technical cooperation in future newsletters.

Within the framework of the technical cooperation that RELAF has been undertaking along with UNICEF México, a project that has set as one of its goals the creation of pilot programmes, three training sessions were given on alternative foster care to the Mexico City DIF (National System for Integral Family Development), with the objective of starting to train the technical teams on the concepts and methodologies necessary for the implementation of foster care programmes.

These working sessions were carried out with the technical team of DIF Mexico City and mainly focused on defining a profile of the population to which the agency provides assistance. A review was done of the workflow needed for working with children and adolescents without parental care, in order to understand the processes and actions already in place, as well as those that should be put into use to guarantee the right to family and community life for all children.

Also, following the signing of an agreement with the Mexican Federal Attorney’s Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, meetings were held with said office in which we discussed the upcoming pilot test of foster care, which will focus on migrant children.

As we announced in our previous newsletters, the current technical cooperation RELAF and UNICEF Mexico are developing together continues to develop. We held meetings with the Strategic Bureau of Experts in Mexico City as part of the strategy promoted for the implementation of the Law on Alternative Care of Mexico City. Firm steps are being taken in the development of a pilot foster care programme.

We also met with the Federal Attorney’s Office for the Protection of Children to discuss the foster care programme at a federal level and in general, as well as collaborative actions and exchanges of good practices with its operators.
It’s worth highlighting the visit to the Casa Cuna Coyacán, a full time residential care facility, where 46 young children live, with the aid of a 169-person staff.

On another note, the videoconference "Keys to deinstitutionalisation and to the development of foster care programmes for children and adolescents deprived of parental care" was led by RELAF on the early morning of May 4, with the participation of Federal Attorney’s Offices from the 32 Mexican states, as well as with the virtual presence of staff from local DIF agencies (National System for Integral Family Development).

A lot of experiences were shared by professionals, operators and managers of the entities. We share a common concern when it comes to carefully implementing programmes in response to a recent legal framework that requires this adaptation.

The principles and steps needed to establish a foster care programme were discussed within the framework of the adaptation of the subsystems that aim to protect the rights of children and adolescents deprived of parental care, also moving towards a policy of gradual deinstitutionalization. We also shared successful experiences in other countries of the region.

RELAF is participating in the organization and delivery of a series of annual training sessions together with our strategic partner, Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), and Maestral International aimed at the DIF Tabasco, which is planning the implementation of a foster care programme. Within this framework, on the week of May 23, Sonia Barrientos (Costa Rica) and Carolina Bascuñán (Chile, currently residing in Brazil) led the way in several training sessions of the second workshop, representing RELAF.

As we said in our previous newsletter, RELAF is participating in the organization and delivery of a series of training sessions together with its strategic partner, Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), and Maestral International, aimed at the DIF Tabasco, which is planning the implementation of a foster care programme.

As part of these trainings, on April 22, Sonia Barrientos (Costa Rica) and Carolina Bascuñán (Chile, currently residing in Brazil) lead the way in several training sessions of the first workshop, representing RELAF.

We are also pleased to announce that our technical cooperation with UNICEF Mexico is moving forward. We are making the final adjustments to the technical cooperation agreement develop jointly in the coming years.

We held meetings with the Strategic Bureau of Experts in Mexico City as part of the strategy promoted for the implementation of the Law on Alternative Care of Mexico City. Firm steps are being taken in the development of a pilot foster care programme.

We also met with the Federal Attorney’s Office to discuss the foster care programme at a federal level and in general, as well as collaborative actions and exchanges of good practices with its operators.

It’s worth highlighting the visit to the Casa Cuna Coyacán, a full time residential care facility, where our team witnessed how the children are being taken care of, the physical conditions of the place, its practices, etc.

On another note, the videoconference "Keys to deinstitutionalisation and to the development of foster care programmes for children and adolescents deprived of parental care" was led by RELAF on the early morning of May 4, with the participation of Federal Attorney’s Offices from the 32 Mexican states, as well as with the virtual presence of staff from local DIF agencies (National System for Integral Family Development). A lot of experiences were shared by professionals, operators and managers of the entities. We share a common concern when it comes to carefully implementing programmes in response to a recent legal framework that requires this adaptation.

The principles and steps needed to establish a foster care programme were discussed within the framework of the adaptation of the subsystems that aim to protect the rights of children and adolescents deprived of parental care, also moving towards a policy of gradual deinstitutionalization. We also shared successful experiences in other countries of the region.

RELAF is participating in the organisation and delivery of a series of training sessions together with our strategic partner, Hope and Homes for Children (HHC), and Maestral International, aimed at DIF Tabasco, which is planning the implementation of a foster care programme in the state.

In the week of April 18, Sonia Barrientos (Costa Rica) and Carolina Bascuñan (Chile, currently residing in Brazil) travelled on behalf of RELAF to give talks in various training sessions from this first workshop.

These trainings, to be held throughout 2016, are the result of the work agenda held last January, after which the local authorities reaffirmed their political decision to develop a foster care pilot plan within the framework of the implementation of the new Law.

In preparation for the pilot test for the deinstitutionalisation of children under the age of 3 in Mexico, technical workshops on alternative care were arranged by DIF Mexico City, the civil society (Juconi, RELAF, Quinta Carmelita, SOS Children's Villages and UAM - X) and UNICEF. RELAF, with Carolina Bascuñan as its representative, spoke about the experiences of deinstitutionalisation in Latin America, lessons learned, and obstacles.

On October 28, the first of 8 technical workshops on alternative care convened by DIF Mexico City, the civil society (Juconi, RELAF, Quinta Carmelita, SOS Children’s Villages and UAM - X) and UNICEF took place in order to lay the technical foundations for the conduction of a pilot test for the deinstitutionalisation of children under the age of 3. In this first instance, they discussed the legislative scope of the law on alternative care of Mexico City, and the international legal framework. RELAF, with Carolina Bascuñan as its representative, spoke about the deinstitutionalisation experiences in Latin America, the lessons learned and the obstacles found. Cristina Baglietto presented an analysis of the legal framework. Afterwards, a methodology workshop was carried out in order to address the main concerns and needs found by the programmes that work with children and their families. A new meeting is expected where preventive family strengthening models will be discussed.

Within the framework of technical cooperation and assistance, RELAF was in Mexico in order to participate in different activities: along with local key actors, it developed implementation workshops on the friendly versions of the Guidelines, participated in meetings, and was present in a Congress and in an International Seminar. Here you can read about the activities in Guanajuato and Guadalajara, locally organised by RELAF’s Latin American Council members Laura Martínez de la Mora (Guanajuato) and Gloria Lascano (Guadalajara).

Activities in Guanajuato.

RELAF successfully cooperated with the call of the Guanajuato Attorney’s Office for Human Rights, which hosts the “Roundtable of Childhood Experts”, made up of key persons in the field of institutionalised childhood and its alternatives.  Within this framework, several actions were completed between August 13 and 17. First of all, participants revised the agenda to be developed as well as the documents to consider during this week, which would close with the First National Congress “Mi derecho a la convivencia familiar y comunitaria” (My Right to Community and Family Life). These would be the themes to debate in the worktables as well as the inaugural document of the Constitution of the Mexican Network for the Right to Community and Family Life. Workshops for the application of the friendly versions of the Guidelines with children, adolescents, and operators also took place in Guanajuato.

Organisations that convened the activities along with the Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos and RELAF: Villa Infantil of Irapuato; Casa Cuna of Irapuato; Children’s Shelter Dolores Avellana; Tiempo Nuevo of Guadalajara; Mejores familias; Amigo Daniel and Hogar del Pobre AC. 

Workshops for the Application of the Friendly Versions of the Guidelines

In the Attorney’s Office for Human Rights, located in Irapuato, we carried out workshops for children and adolescents using the Friendly Version of the Guidelines produced by RELAF in cooperation with UNICEF. The first workshop included the participation of 23 children between 8 and 12 years of age who actively took part in games and exchanged knowledge about their rights. Even though the participants expressed that they weren't familiar with the existence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, they were able to identify their rights without difficulty and explain them in their own words.

They dialogued, debated, and created drawings about their rights. The second workshop, designed for 20 adolescents, also revolved around the discussion and reflection on their rights and their relation with laws and current guidelines. In this case, the adolescents identified the need to improve the fulfilment of their rights in institutional settings, describing practices that must be revised. In particular, they are worried about the long stays in institutions, as well as the weaknesses in working with their families of origin.

In Guanajuato, two other workshops for adults took place, specifically for people who work with or are responsible for children and adolescents without parental care or at risk of losing it, using the Friendly Version for operators. In these cases, Matilde Luna was in charge of the coordination, with the assistance of Federico Kapustiansky. Among the participants were the Guanajuato Attorney for Human Rights and his team, representatives of the Legislative Power and of the “Roundtable of Childhood Experts”, professionals of the state’s DIF and of the municipal DIF (the organisations dedicated to the integral development of families), personnel from Save the Children and from SOS Children’s Villages, among others, and operators of communal homes, and security agents. After a presentation about the formation, objective and principles of the Guidelines, an activity took place where participants were required to contrast certain articles of the friendly versions with their own field experience. This produced rich debates and opportunities to learn about the situation of children in alternative care, their families and communities of origin, and the role institutional settings play in these circumstances. Several important obstacles to the fulfillment of rights were recognized: the existence of large scale institutions, the poor legal framework, and the lack of resources and strategies to work with families of origin, among others.

First National Congress “My Right to Community and Family Life”

The First National Congress, led by the Attorney’s Office for the Rights of Children and by the “Roundtable of Childhood Experts, took place in Guanajuato’s Convention Centre. Over 730 people from different places and fields in Mexico participated in the event. During the first day of work, experts gave a series of presentations that revealed the damage that unjustified and unnecessary institutionalisation causes in children. Later, workshops were carried out with a great introduction, in order to explore the announced themes more deeply: serious violations of rights in institutions; the normative framework and public policies; adolescents in institutions; institutionalisation and its relation to other practices that aim to fulfil the right to a family; and the mobilisation and articulation of key actors. As a result of these discussion tables, a declaration was created that was read and signed by all of the attendees at the end of the event. The following day was focused on children’s and families’ testimonies in relation to institutionalisation and adoption and on making public the changes that are being generated in the region. In conclusion, it was recognised that the presentation of the Mexican Network for the Right to Community and Family Life and a document about the situation and the suggestions issued at the event are important tools for the adaptation and eradication of practices that violate rights in this country.

Activities in Guadalajara

RELAF participated in the organization of the International Seminar “Childhood Deprived of Parental Care: from the Rights to the Facts” that took place on August 21 in Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. The meeting focused on contributing to the improvement of the situation of children without parental care living in the city’s institutions. Besides this, there were meetings with experts in the field of institutionalised children and adolescents, workshops for the application of the friendly versions of the Guidelines and expositions in three conferences.

Workshops for the Application of the Friendly Versions of the Guidelines

In the headquarters of Hogar Cabanas (an institution that houses 400 children), a workshop took place with 14 children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, coming from 8 institutions in the state of Jalisco. The proposed dynamic was centered on being able to reflect about the knowledge the adolescents had about their rights through playful activities. In this context, they discussed the existing legal frameworks as well as their rights. Just like in other workshops, using the friendly versions of the Guidelines allowed them to reflect and share their experiences. Once again, attention was brought to the various practices in this country that should be adapted or eradicated: the damaging long stays in institutions, the necessity to create more opportunities to listen to children, and the recognition that the use of mistreatment and violence as a practice to discipline children must be eradicated.

In the previously mentioned Hogar Cabanas, we held the workshop for the staff and directors from different institutions, educators, and professionals. The participants demonstrated a great interest in getting to know the Guidelines through the Friendly Version and recognised the necessity to hold spaces for reflection and training on a permanent basis. The group of over 20 operators was able to acknowledge its strengths and weaknesses, the latter a result of the fact that the focus of the job is still not centered on the protection of children’s rights. They specifically recognised the difficulties they find when working with the families of origin because of the contaminating influence of the “penalising vision” of families in situations of vulnerability. Everyone concluded in the agreement that it is important to revise their practices, adhering to the compromise to work on improving the daily care provided to the children.

Expert Meetings

In Guadalajara, we carried out two roundtables of reflection and discussion with actors who are crucial in the protection of the rights of institutionalised children. These meetings were convened by Gloria Lascano, a professional from the Human Rights Secretariat and member of RELAF’s Latin American Council, and took place in the headquarters of the Coordinadora para el Desarrollo y Proteccion para niños y adolescentes (Coordinator Body for the Development and Protection of Children). Among the participants were representatives from the Legislative Branch, the city’s DIF, the General Attorney’s Office, the General Attorney’s Office for Justice, the presidency of DIF Jalisco, the Attorney for Human Rights, the Instituto Jalisciense de Asistencia Social (Jalisco’s Institute of Welfare), the Secretariat of Social Development, and NGOs, as well as representatives from residential care facilities, and UNICEF. In this framework, they were able to reflect upon the difficulties in modifying existing practices in favour of guaranteeing family and community life for children, identifying actions and beliefs which have become routine in the daily action of the protection system.

International Seminar “Childhood deprived of Parental Care”

The Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara (ITESO) was chosen as the space for the International Seminar “Childhood deprived of Parental Care”, organized by the Secretariat of Human Development through the Coordinator Body for the Development and Protection of Children and Adolescents and the Instituto Jaliscience de Asistencia Social (Jalisco’s Institute of Welfare), with support from RELAF. This meeting had more than 150 participants from different fields, and was centered in getting to know the seriously problematic situation in which children and adolescents in Jalisco and all of Latin America are living, using the Latin American Document and focusing especially on the situation in Mexico. UNICEF Mexico, the Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (Mexican Network for Children’s Rights), university teachers, and the Programa Infancia de la UAM Xochimilco (Childhood Programme of UAM Xochimilco) all participated in the expositions. RELAF gave a conference about the Guidelines as a tool for the guidance of the practices for the protection of children’s rights. The conference closed with an exposition called “Institutionalisation from the Perspective of Children and Adolescents.”

Guanajuato and Guadalajara: some general conclusions

Many activities took place in Mexico with positive results. The workshops of application of the friendly versions were enriching experiences of reflection and learning, just like the meetings with experts. For RELAF, it is necessary to recognize and strengthen the institutions in this great country that make a serious effort to improve and modify their initiatives, keeping the CRC and the Guidelines as both objectives and support systems.

The National Congress in Guanajuato, for its part, mobilised a great number of people and exposed the concerns regarding institutionalisation. In this framework, individuals and institutions found themselves with new clear objectives to change. The International Seminar of Jalisco brought a great deal of quality to the debate, identifying the debt with institutionalised children. There are still large scale institutions that do not have the necessary state regulation and supervision, such as one institution within the country (among others) which houses more than 2000 children. In addition to these serious violations, the reference is the emblematic cases of the “Casitas del Sur” institution, from which 11 children have “disappeared” since 2009.
RELAF’s desire and obligation is that this be a milestone for the joint work between all those who find themselves involved in this issue. This goal, apart from a few mobilised actors who have been in contact with RELAF for a few years, is just beginning to actively and productively come together. These spaces of reflection and training are indispensable in order to keep moving forward with the conviction and ethical belief that everyone should have an equal opportunity to a dignified life.

More information >