Some social and child welfare experts have called for an effective and professional gatekeeping mechanism in making decisions regarding placement of any child in any form of residential child care.
They made the call, midweek, at a three-day capacity building and stakeholders engagement on alternative care guidelines in Ijebu-Ode.
Commenting,the Programme Development Advisor, SOS Children’s Villages in Nigeria,  Mr Oluwole Amosu, said the principle of gatekeeping in alternative child care “plays pivotal roles in preventing children coming into alternative care solely because of poverty and other unnecessary reasons”.
Amosu said that gatekeeping in alternative care would help in developing a system that really match the circumstances, needs of children and families in communities with appropriate services.
“To support family unity and prevent unnecessary entry of a child into the care system, a thorough assessment of child’s individual needs is required to determine the most suitable family support service or alternative community care option.
“This should be combined with a high threshold for admission into care.
“The care plan for a child and the available services require regular reviews, with emphasis on the best interest of the child.
“Children being assigned care provisions, that is not in their best interest, often fall victims of further harms,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director of Rehabilitation, Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Mr Muhammed Akande, made a case for children with special needs.
According to Akande, children with special needs should be taken into consideration in the provisions of alternative care system.
He called for Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in the state alternative care system to make rehabilitation centres in the state more habitable.
Also, the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, Mr Eghosa Erhumwunse, said the child care guidelines provide adequate protection of children without parental care.
He said there had been increased reports of cruel, abusive and humiliating conditions in the so-called ‘orphanages’ or institutions and other poor-quality residential facilities, especially for children with disabilities or behavioural difficulties.
Represented by the Regional Programme Manager, South, Mr Ayodeji Adelopo, he noted that institutional care isolates children from the outside world, with rules and systems that infringe on their individuality, rights, psychology and emotional needs.
According to him, United Nations (UN) guidelines on child alternative care promote the principle of necessity that there should be no unnecessary care placement and the principle of suitability.