The National Child Protection System and Alternative Child Care in Jordan

Abstract

This report on the National Child Protection System and Alternative Child Care in Jordan was commissioned by SOS Children’s Villages International, Regional Office for CEE/CIS/Middle East. It is part of a series of five reports based on a multi-country desk review, including also Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. The author is the renowned international child protection consultant Dr. Chrissie Gale. We are glad to share this and the other reports with all interested stakeholders in order to spark further efforts to better protect children without parental care or at risk of losing it and facilitate new effective partnerships. All reports can be accessed here. The main objective of the review was to increase our knowledge and understanding of the child protection sector in Jordan, in particular recent developments and reform efforts. SOS Children’s Villages alternative care and family strengthening programs operating in the country continuously aim at improving and increasing the positive impact on the lives of children who lost parental care and children at risk of being separated from their families. Understanding the functioning and challenges of the national child protection system is paramount for us to better address the needs of these groups, scale up or launch new initiatives and strengthen cooperation with governmental and civil society stakeholders. The report thoroughly examines all available academic and professional research literature. It offers an analysis of data and information obtained from open web and official government sources. Presenting a synthesis of compiled evidence, it gives a detailed picture of current child protection practices and the structural and legal building blocks of the child protection system in Jordan. The report offers rich evidence for sound decision-making in the areas of policy, programming, advocacy and development cooperation. We hope the report will be useful also for other agencies and organizations active in the field of child protection. May the learnings help us in our work to improve the lives of children and families.