These Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in Kenya should be read with the Kenyan legislation and, accordingly uphold and give further effect to the core principles laid out in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010; the Children Act, 2001; the Adoption Regulations, 2005, the Charitable Children Institutions Regulations, 2005; and relevant government administrative directives made under the Children Act, 2001.

The Guidelines are also informed by the Government of Kenya’s international commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption 1993 and the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (UN 2010).

The family is a nurturing and caring environment and is the ideal place in which to raise a child. Growing up in a family helps children to develop a sense of self-esteem, belonging, family values, and religious and cultural identity. Due to the nature of family care, children learn to interact better with the community and are better equipped to face life challenges than those placed in institutions. This is because most institutions are highly structured, controlled and operate according to strict routines.

As noted in the UNCRC, all efforts need to be made to support families to continue to care for their children and, if this is not possible, to place a child in a family-based alternative care arrangement, such as, kinship care, foster care, guardianship or adoption. A range of alternative care services should be available and institutional care should be a temporary measure and used only as a last resort. When institutional care is deemed appropriate for a limited number of children, it should be provided in a small family-like environment.

The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) realized the need to develop these Guidelines to provide harmonised national guidance for child welfare and protection practitioners in order to improve the quality of family support and alternative care services in Kenya.

A technical working group with staff drawn from the Department and the National Council for Children’s Services (NCCS) and various stakeholders including UNICEF and representatives from civil society was constituted to spearhead the process of developing these guidelines. 

A lot of effort has gone into the development of this document and it is hoped that the Guidelines will be of assistance to service providers and policy makers and will contribute to improved service delivery for children.