The orphanage is the foundation for orphans and poor children. Therefore, government supervision is important so that orphanage children receive protection from various types of violence.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
RIVALDO ARNOLD BELEKUBUN
The caretaker of the Tebet Maryamah Orphanage with her foster children, Haidar (3) and Hannah (5) at the Tebet Orphanage, South Jakarta, on Thursday (27/10/2022).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government is looking to pay more attention to children at orphanages – many having yet to register formally – and child social welfare institutions (LKSA). In addition to distributing social assistance, the government also supervises the orphanages and issues a number of regulations to protect the orphans from violence.
The Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Ministry, in coordination with relevant ministries and agencies, has drafted a guideline for standard child custodianship and protection to ensure their safety at orphanages.
The measures align with Government Regulation No. 78/2021 concerning child protection. The orphanages are encouraged to create a safe and friendly environment to enable the children to grow and develop.
"The administrators of child protection institutions, including orphanages, must implement a code of ethics on handling the children and work on relationships among custodian members. [Child care houses] must have legality or be registered and custodians must show commitment and integrity in child protection," said Nahar, the PPPA Ministry’s deputy officer in charge of child protection, in Jakarta on Tuesday (1/11/2022).
He said orphanage staff members must also be well-trained, as mandated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, be knowledgeable about case management and the policies for the fulfillment of rights and special protection of children, as well as the service-based standard operating procedures for best interest of children.
The government is also encouraging orphanages to build networks necessary in handling serious cases, increase the capacity of parents (in cases where a child still has parents) or relatives and, if possible, involve children in decision making.
To help enable the fulfillment of the rights and special protection of children in orphanages, the government sees it necessary to promote synergy among ministries, institutions and regional governments. The PPPA Ministry has called for regional governments to give more concern about child protection in order to create child-friendly environments in respective regions.
The public is encouraged to participate in supervising the orphanages in their areas by reporting to authorities in cases of violence through call center 129 or WhatsApp 08111129129.
The PPPA Ministry is also looking to strengthen the orphanages’ fostering capacity through technical guidance based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, advocate the use of e-learning programs, as well as technical guidance and standardization of child care houses.
The public is encouraged to participate in supervising the orphanages in their areas by reporting to authorities in cases of violence through call center 129 or WhatsApp 08111129129.
Household empowerment
Meanwhile, the Social Affairs Ministry has stepped up its efforts to empower families in child-upbringing through the Family Hope Program (PKH), Social Rehabilitation Assistance (Atensi), social empowerment, skills training and business assistance programs for households.
“Children, as often as possible, are taken care of by their parents or extended family. If a child has no parents or family members who can provide care [for him or her], they can be taken by a substitute family [foster care] or an adopting guardian," Kanya Eka Santi, the ministry’s director of child social rehabilitation, said.
AYU NURFAIZAH UNTUK KOMPAS
Children recite the Koran at the Muhammadiyah Orphanage, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Wednesday (26/10/2022).
Kanya said the LKSA should be made as the last option in child custodian and that the institution should first ensure that a child has no family or was abandoned before admitting him or her.
She said her office was filing LKSA accreditation data and urged orphanages to participate in the accreditation process in order to meet the minimum standard in child custodianship and fulfill the child’s rights.
Based on data at the accreditation board for social welfare institutions (BALKS), as many as 2,172 LKSAs were accredited in 2021, while the number of children, according to the social welfare integrated data (DTKS), was 106,406 in 2019 in 4,864 LKSAs, accredited and non-accredited.
From the data received, 900,000 children need assistance in childcare and parenting institutions, including foster families.
Femmy Eka Kartika, coordinating deputy for children, women and youth welfare improvement at the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Ministry, said the government would scrutinize the family background of a child, based on name and domicile, before including him or her in the assistance beneficiary list.
“We are currently in the process of checking the DTKS. From the data received, 900,000 children need assistance in childcare and parenting institutions, including foster families. So, the government sees that the appropriate assistance is given to the child, not necessarily to orphanages," she said.
Tata Sudrajat, deputy chief for the impact creation program at Save Children Indonesia, said that a research it carried out in collaboration with the Social Affairs Ministry and under the auspices of United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in 2007 revealed that the number of children in orphanages in Indonesia reached 500,000, which was the highest in the world. The majority of children appeared to have parents (60 percent) or a single parent (30 percent).
“Based on the 2007 research, in 2011 the Social Affairs Ministry issued a national standard for child custodianship in orphanages. It encourages household-based childcare and orphanages to take in children only as a last resort. As a consequence, the Social Affairs Ministry should give more attention to children so that they do not end up in an orphanage," Tata said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection appealed to orphanages to cooperate with foster families in child custodianship. "Orphanages must employ an [ethical] standard that [holds them back from the orientation] of making money, but [serve as] an alternative care," commission’s deputy chairperson Rita Pranawati said.
