Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Alternative Residence

ended

Development and improvement of alternative care systems for unaccompanied migrant children (UMCs) in Belgium, Germany and Greece. The aim will be to strengthen the existing tools and systems, by increasing their inclusivity and quality. The activities will include: 1. Recruitment of foster care providers (specifically including families with a migratory background) for young UMCs (14 and younger); 2. Development of alternative care prototypes (other than foster care) tailored to the needs of older UMCs (14+ and 18+); 3. Training and capacity building of professionals and care providers with adjusted tools. 4. Organization of (trans)national exchange of best practices within implementing EU MS through national stakeholder dialogues and with other EU MS through thematic workshops on each of the 3 topics mentioned above. Overall, the Belgian, German and Greek alternative care systems will be strengthened. The ultimate goal will be to improve and promote these alternatives for all UMCs, in both experienced and less-experienced MS. Ultimately, UMCs will have access to more tailored services and they will be better understood and supported. Concretely: - Greater awareness amongst professionals and the general public regarding foster care for UMCs; - Access to tailored recruitment tools for existing foster care agencies; - Ca. 35 foster care providers will be recruited in Belgium and Greece; - At least 1 or 2 German city/ies will benefit from the developed alternative care prototypes for older UMCs; - Training to ca. 80 professionals and 50 foster carers in Belgium and Greece during this project (more will be trained when counting those that will be trained afterwards by the ToT-trained professionals). During the U-CARE project, the following outputs will be produced: - 2 foster family recruitment toolboxes (campaigns and SOP); - 3 alternative care prototypes for older UMCs; - At least 2 adapted and expanded training packages for foster care professionals