U-CARE project: Alternative Care for Unaccompanied Minors
The U-CARE activities in Belgium are coordinated by U-CARE's project management team. For more info, please contact Anke Van de Velde (avandevelde@iom.int), U-CARE project manager.
For U-CARE activities in Germany, please contact Jan Graf (jgraf@iom.int), U-CARE project officer.
For U-CARE activities in Greece, please contact Georgina Galanopoulou (galanopoulou@iom.int), U-CARE project officer.
Related Sustainable Development Goals and Global Compact for Migration Objectives
Summary
U-CARE project, financed by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (2014-2020) and coordinated by IOM Belgium, is a 20-month initiative which contributes to the development and improvement of alternative non-institutionalized care systems for Unaccompanied Migrant Children (UMC) in Belgium, Germany and Greece. Through an inclusive child-centered approach and the exchange of good practices, knowledge and experiences, existing systems and tools will be strengthened.
This project targets primarily unaccompanied migrant children by exploring, strengthening and considering alternative care options as a more suitable response to their specific needs. To respect children’s views and to ensure that the envisioned tools respond to the actual needs, UMC will be invited throughout the project to share their opinions. The project also aims at mobilizing, recruiting and training foster families, with a specific focus on those with a migration background, as well as training professionals working within national child protection systems. Finally, the project puts considerable emphasis on (trans)national exchange of good practices and awareness raising within the general public and among more specialized actors on the importance of family-based care and residential care alternatives.
Key objective
- Family-based care - Alternative living arrangements - Training and capacity building - Awareness raising and exchange
