Costa Rica 🇨🇷

Organisation: Casa Viva

🟦 Background: Casa Viva’s founders, Phil and Jill Aspegren, had previously worked in other countries providing for children’s homes (aka orphanages). On discovering foster care, they set out to create foster care in Costa Rica, where there was no formal programme. Today, it remains the only foster care provider in the country. 

🟨 Their goal: To create their first foster care programme in the country.

🟩 Main Services: 

• Awareness and advocacy, 

• Foster care training and consultation.

• Awareness and Advocacy to the judiciary and legal professionals.  

🟦 Summary of SFAC work: Initially, SFAC’s work was helping Phil and Jill learn about foster care, its advantages and disadvantages and how it could be possible in Costa Rica. Following these sessions helped Costa Rica learn how to implement a foster care service, which began in 2005. 

In 2023, Casa Viva returned to SFAC this time to ask us to help the judiciary and legal professionals understand why family care is preferable and how courts make decisions about where a child can live in their best interests. 

🟩 Outcome: Casa Viva created and continues to provide a foster care service in Costa Rica. In addition, they now provide training and advocacy services globally, with Phil a highly respected advocate for family care services and Casa Viva working with SFAC on a number of TSA IHQ projects. 

A workshop for legal professionals was also completed in 2023, and it received significant positive feedback, with many stating how it was important to have a workshop designed for judges and lawyers, and delivered by experienced peers from another country.

🗝️ Impact: Casa Viva has operated foster care for over 20 years, providing care to over 1150   children who have experienced family care rather than children’s homes. 

Casa Viva has also influenced over 12  organisations to transition their services from children’s homes to family care, which will impact thousands of children. 

The legal workshop also begins a process of bringing judicial influence to help reform care in Costa Rica. 

‘SFAC provided us with ‘case management’ guidance in the development of the Casa Viva Model which Casa Viva continues to operate and continuously improve.’

Phil A – Casa Viva 

📅 Years Active: 2002-2005 and 2022-23

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Haiti 🇭🇹

Organisation: Child Hope Haiti

🟦 Background: Child Hope Haiti was already providing reunification (returning children to parents from children’s homes) and kinship care services.

🟨 Their goal: To review and identify areas for improvement and strengths to maintain as good practice. 

🟩 Main Services: Consultancy on case management systems for reunification work. 

🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC provided a desk review of their case management system and using our 5 know model of care planning, we thought worked well and what needed to improve. 

🟩 Outcome: Report completed for them to review.

📅 Years Active: 2021-22

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Mexico 🇭🇹

Organisation: The Salvation Army Mexico

🟦 Background: TSA Mexico has over 20 children’s homes across the country and TSA globally is considering realigning provision to meet the national legislation and UNCRC goals.

🟨 Their goal: To review standards of practice in the children’s homes and promote reflective discussions about the future of children’s homes in TSA Mexico.

🟩 Main Services: 

• Advocacy and Awareness Training on children’s homes and alternative provision

• Review of standards of practice. 

🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC completed a review of five children’s homes in Mexico to assist in identifying strengths and areas for improvement. 

SFAC also completed a national workshop for TSA Mexico staff involved in the care and protection of children to stimulate debate about the future provision of children’s care. 

The workshops, consultancy and review services SFAC delivered were to around 35 TSA Mexico staff. 

🟩 Outcome: The review identified areas for improvement and TSA Mexico created an action plan and addressed the urgent challenges. 

The workshop was completed and discussions were held, leading to a formal policy paper being presented to senior leadership. 

🗝️ Impact: Action plans created to improve the quality of care in some of the children’s homes and create an inspection process internally. 

A policy paper at senior leadership stimulated debate for further review of how TSA Mexico cares for children which is ongoing.

📅 Years Active: 2017-2020 (SFAC will be returning to Mexico in 2026 to discuss next steps, delays due to COVID and changes in personnel leading to more discussions and reviews.)