Report | Alternative Care Survey

Children affected by armed conflict, displacement, and natural disasters are at greater risk of being separated from their families, leading to increased vulnerability. Strengthening alternative care systems is critical to ensuring their protection, development and wellbeing. Since 2013, the humanitarian sector’s primary guidance to respond
to unaccompanied and separated children in need of Alternative Care has been the Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit. The ACE Toolkit now requires substantial revision to address the evolving socio-political landscape, emerging child protection challenges, and shifts and developments in best practices. Changes over the past decade, including new conflict dynamics, displacement patterns, and the growing use of cash-based assistance, underscore the need for updated, responsive guidance. It must also incorporate relevant developments from non-emergency contexts, particularly in the majority world, such as improved policy guidance on kinship care (e.g. Family for Every Child) and supported independent living models for adolescents (e.g. UNHCR, 2023). These shifts demand updated, context-responsive tools that can guide safe, appropriate care for all separated children in crisis contexts.

In September 2024, the Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force (UASC TF) of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (Alliance) conducted a survey to gain insight into alternative care practices in humanitarian and crisis-prone settings. The survey, led by Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee on behalf of the UASC Task Force, aimed to assess the needs, approaches, and challenges in providing
quality alternative care for children in emergencies. 

The findings from this survey will contribute to updating the ACE Toolkit, and refining alternative care approaches, and identifying key resource and policy gaps, in humanitarian settings.