The Evolution of Alternative Care in Nepal over the Last Decade and Way Forward

Abstract

Our article focuses on the national efforts advancing children’s right to alternative care services in Nepal. It presents the government’s existing laws and policies in providing responsible care to children in need of special protection and for children who cannot be placed in parental care due to various reasons for family separation. This article also looks into the history of alternative care in Nepal and discusses the alternative forms of care practised in the communities and their evolution, upholding the best interest of the child. We share the promising practices of kinship care and foster care (informal and formal) for children at risk of separation and child institutionalisation and for children removed from orphanages and children’s homes for family reintegration, implemented by The Himalayan Innovative Society in Nepal in partnership with Forget Me Not and Hope and Homes for Children. We, finally, conclude by sharing the key challenges and opportunities in the implementation of alternative care services for children in Nepal driving the care reform in the country.