An Examination of the Position of the Law on Alternative Care for Children in Edo State

Abstract

An examination was carried out on the Child Rights Law 2007 and the Children Protection Policy 2015 of Edo State and other relevant legislations with a view of finding the position of the law on alternative care in Edo State. The work discovered that alternative care provided in both legislations mainly focused on institutional formal care or altogether did not provide for informal alternative care. There is the need for informal care to be considered as a result of the fact that most of the incidences of child abuse stem from this area. The United Nation Guidelines was also examined and it was discovered that a lot of gaps exist in our legislations. Research also extended to review of relevant literature on studies on alternative child care system as well as internet sources to enrich this work. The paper makes recommendations for a reform, increase in funding and other relevant concerns that will enhance a more effective implementation of alternative care in Edo State.