CHILDREN CARE THROUGH ALTERNATIVE FORMS MYTHS AND REALITIES

Children are to be considered as vital human resource and future pillars of any
economy. Globally, the current trends of child care practice shows alternative child
care as form of community based care, foster care, and kinship care is increasing in
developing countries. Whereas, institutional care, inter country adoption and group
home care is not becoming preferable. However, in Ethiopia the practice has been
maintained in same order. With this insight, this paper focus on assessing the
current practices and challenges of other forms of alternative child care, knowledge
gaps of care givers, and factors determining well-functioning of the program in the
study area. Methodologically, the research employed quantitative research
paradigm. Primary data was collected through interview schedule from 80 care
givers, focus group discussion, and key informant interview, and supplemented with
secondary data sources. Purposive sampling method was employed to select the
study area and participants from all SOS children’s village program locations.
Collected data was analysed with SPSS (version 21) and descriptive statistics such
as mean, standard deviation were used for analysis to arrive the meaningful results.
In addition, binary logistic regression model was used to trace out the influential
factors of well functioning of the programme. The results revealed that, practice of
partnership with stakeholders and working in collaboration with the local
community, child participation, practice of reintegration and reunification activities,

ensuring the best interest of the child were found not satisfactory. Whereas,
residential instability of care givers, implementation of guideline, provision of
quality health care, promoting local adoption and guardianship, absence of income
generating activities for care givers, care givers selection guideline are found high
challenges in the study area. Also, care givers lacks knowledge of parenting style,
child rights convention, and child protection polices due to lack of training and their
educational level. The regression results found that educational level, health
problem, food allowance, CBOs participation, community participation, medical
service and dependency ratio has significant relationship well-functioning of the
program in the study area. On the basis of the findings recommendations are
forwarded to strengthen the programme