TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH IN SALTA, ARGENTINE NORTH WEST.

During the first week of November, Mara Tissera (member of the RELAF working team) and Marta Pesenti (member of RELAF’s Consultative Council) travelled to the city of Salta (North West of Argentina) to develop an agenda related to technical cooperation activities and the production of the Report on Institutionalised Children.

On one hand, the technical cooperation activities with the local government and the alternative care institutions included the conduction of workshops for the application of the friendly versions of the Guidelines, and meetings with the authorities of the Secretariat of Human Rights, which is the governmental body in charge of the child care and protection public policies in that province. It is important to highlight that a reform process has been taking place during the last years with the aim to adequate the practices and policies to the standards of the CRC. It implied the closure of the large-scale institutions that provided alternative care and were under the responsibility of the governmental body in charge of child care and protection issues, promoting residential care facilities of a smaller scale and a bigger openness to the community.

For their part, the two workshops for the implementation of the Guidelines had the participation of 30 operators (carers and nurses) and 20 children from the children’s institutions located in the city: Casa Cuna, Hogar Nazareth, Casita Feliz, Amanecer and Complejo Niño Jesús. As regards the operators, they worked discussing the standards and guidelines exposed in the material as usual, and finally there was a plenary in which they shared their views and concerns. On one hand, it is recognised in general the improvements achieved during the last years through the reform process, and so did the children during their workshop. Among the advances, it was mentioned the reduction in the number of interns in children’s homes and in the length of the alternative care measure, the performance of periodic monitoring, the elaboration of confidential files, the promotion of meeting spaces between the institutionalised children and their families, the encouragement to build stronger links between children and the community, and their access to a person of trust. On the other hand, the main issues and obstacles highlighted by the operators were: the lack of regular training opportunities, particularly as regards the care of children with special needs; the lack of application of a “Code of Conduct” in their work settings; the long stays of children; the internment of children under the age of three; and the lack of support for children leaving alternative care.

Besides, meetings were held with the governmental authorities and with the family strengthening technical team to discuss the main obstacles and issues faced by the care and protection system for its adaptation to the principles of the international documents, such as the CRC and the Guidelines.

Furthermore, the information known through these activities and through the visits to residential care institutions served as input for the elaboration of the Report on Institutionalised Children, which is being produced by a research team formed by RELAF, with the cooperation of UNICEF. Visits were made to the Children’s homes mentioned above, as well as to the Boarding School Carmen Puch Güemes, which is a large-scale institution that houses 350 children permanently and depends on the local Ministry of Education. During those visits, we held interviews with the institutions’ authorities and carers, and we talked to the children.

We thank the authorities, operators and technical team members who accompanied us and contributed to the realisation of these activities. At RELAF, we encourage the reform process that has been developed in the province, and we reaffirm our commitment to keep on helping and accompanying this process.