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In 2002, the total number of children in public
care in Serbia and Montenegro was 13,700, of of
which 7,900 children were in foster or guardianship care
and 5,800 children lived in residential institutions.
Number
of children in care of foster parents or guardians and living
in residential institutions, in thousands (table)
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The ratio between foster or guardianship
care and residential care has changed over recent years. The number of children placed in residential
institutions has been gradually decreasing: from more than
49% of all placements in 1990 to 42% in 2000.
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Family-based alternatives are now an option,
but institutions are still being overused. The total number
of children who have been placed in any type of care has
decreased slightly, falling from 14,000 in 1989 to 13,700
in 2002. Meanwhile the number of children in foster or guardianship
care has increased slightly (8,000 in 1989 to 8,100 in 2002).
This indicates that reforms of the child care system have
favoured alternative care, and that more attention has been
given to preventing children from being separated from their
biological parents.
- While the number of children in any type of public care
has decreased, the number of infants in residential care
(infant homes) has increased over the years (300 children
in 1990, 340 in 2000). The children living in infant homes
are 0 to 3 years old, the age group for which institutionalization
is the most harmful
- In 2002, 247 children from Serbia and Montenegro were
adopted nationally and internationally. There has been an
increase in the number of adoptions over the years.
Number
of adoptions between 1989 and 2002 (graph)
- There is no information on the number of international adoptions.
Out
of home care system in CEE/CIS region
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Source: UNICEF TransMONEE 2004
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