Strengthening guardianship in the EU through capacity building, knowledge exchange and peer learning
Financed by: European Commission - DG HOME - Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
Duration: 24 months, April 2024 - March 2026
Partners: Rode Kruis Vlaanderen (Belgium), Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles – Aide à la Jeunesse (AGAJ; Belgium), Association of Legal Intervention (SIP; Poland), Portuguese Refugee Council (CPR; Portugal), Skupnost centrov za socialno delo Slovenije (SCSD), European Guardianship Network (EGN) ob podpori NIDOS (Netherlands) in Save the Children (Poland)
Guardianship is a vital element in the reception, care provision, and integration of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC). Despite efforts of guardianship services and responsible public institutions throughout the EU, several challenges persist. Think about shortages of guardians, long appointment processes, no dedicated trainings for guardians or a lack of consistency due to involvement of different institutional levels. Furthermore, guardianship systems in the EU are not streamlined and could greatly benefit from increased cooperation and knowledge exchange.
Work packages:
- Improve guardianship system and build capacity guardianship institutions
- Increase knowledge and skills for guardians
- Transition to adulthood pilot
- Encouraging (inter)national exchange and mutual learning
The project benefits:
- Care providers of UASC - Specifically professional and volunteer guardians who will be involved in capacitybuilding activities and gain access to tools
- National guardianship services - Recommendations will be presented to improve support for UASC in their national contexts
- Policymakers, multi-level public - authorities and child protection actors Raise awareness through dissemination efforts, knowledge exchange and peer-topeer learning
- With benefit from enhanced representation and consideration of their interests, including during their transition to adulthood