Background

The economic recovery from the Indian Ocean Tsunami that hit Thailand’s West Andaman Coast on December 26th 2004 had been slow and demanding; increasingly, more and more families felt increasing pressures to place their children into institutional care homes while they focussed on re-building their lives. These alternative childcare establishments, included, (but were not limited to), group homes, orphanages, temporary residential care (foster care) and boarding schools.

Until this report was commissioned by UNICEF, there was little or no monitoring of alternative care arrangements for children.

Main concerns

• To discover how the organisations were being regulated and coordinated?
• To determine whether there were legal provisions for children without parental care, family or community based care?
• To establish the organisational roles in terms of alternative child care, and the responsible government authorities operating within the childcare sector?

Due to the indeterminable status of children affected by the tsunami, UNICEF was supporting the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to develop a policy on alternative care arrangements to promote family and community-based care.

Project Overview

UNICEF commissioned a report, to be written by David Tolfree, an independent consultant, entitled ‘The Situation Analysis of Alternative Child Care in the Six Tsunami-Affected Provinces in Southern Thailand’  and requested ChildTRAC's involvement to help instigate it's research. This project was intended to determine where and why gaps of information and action exist within alternative child care establishments. 

Methodology

ChildTRAC assisted the primary researcher (David Tolfree), by facilitating a series of interviews with caregivers and children within institutions, shelters, welfare homes and boarding schools.

Our researchers used the ChildTRAC Speak out Kit (SOK) tool to interview the children in a non-confrontational manner and help determine their well-being. 

ChildTRAC also collected information on the Thai legal system relating to child care, government and private institutions, shelters, welfare homes and Non Government Organisations.

Geographical scope

Information was gathered in the six tsunami-affected provinces in Southern Thailand: Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Satun, Trang, and Krabi.  Additional information was also gathered from institutions located in neighbouring provinces to create a base for comparison between established institutions and those which were created post tsunami.
Additional provinces included Surathani, Na Kon Si Thamarat, Songkla, Yahla and Na Ti Wat. 

Findings

All detailed findings are documented in David Tolfree’s ‘The Situation Analysis of Alternative Child Care in the Six Tsunami-Affected Provinces in Southern Thailand’ Report to which was due to be published by UNICEF at the end of 2007.