The two-day national consultation on Family-Based Care has kicked off in Pune today! Organized by UNICEF and UBS-OF, with support from Transform NEEV Collective and the India Alternative Care Network, this event sees participation from 17 state governments and CSOs, including Nayana Gunde (Commissioner, Dept. of Women and Child Development), Bhavana Saxena (CEO, CARA), and Harjot Kumar Bamrah (Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar). The focus is on addressing children’s vulnerabilities and prioritizing family-based care over institutionalization. Together, they’re reaffirming their commitment to Family-Based Care.

At the #NationalFamilySummit2025, Hugh Salmon, Director, @SSWAlliance (GSSWA), Anamika Viswanath, Lead, Youth Program, Miracle Foundation India, and V.S. Valavan, Associate Director-South, Miracle Foundation India, shared key findings from the project, ‘Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care- Learning from Young People with Lived Experience of Care,’ an initiative managed by GSSWA, with technical support from Child Frontiers and supported by @MJFCharity. Implemented in Brazil, India and Uganda, this project aims to capture and amplify the lived experiences of youth, children, their families and caregivers to develop training tools that strengthen social service workforce in supporting family-based care, keeping young people and children at the center. In India, with Miracle Foundation India as the technical partner, the project was carried out in Coimbatore and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu from March 2024 to December 2024. Before the summit, the project's findings were presented to Department of Children Welfare and Special Services, Tamil Nadu. The department received them well, offering valuable insights on resource utilization and future studies. They expressed strong interest in integrating the training manual, videos, and other materials to strengthen the social workforce. The findings and recommendations underscored the vital role of social workers in supporting children and families from vulnerable communities. Furthermore, the project highlighted the need to guide the social workforce with a set of contents and enablers to provide support in areas such as education, guidance during tough times, poverty reduction, emotional support, family relationship-building, and safe financial practices, all centered around the priorities and perspectives of those with care experience. Recognizing the critical roles that social workers play in care reforms, the project emphasized the importance of considering the lens of communities and Child Care Institutions as well, Hugh shared.