Supporting protection and integration of children and families in migration in Croatia
It is a joint programme by Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and UNICEF, funded by the Swiss Government
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The fundamentals
The war against Ukraine which started in February 2022 triggered one of the fastest-growing humanitarian emergencies in Europe in recent history. Most of the affected population are women and children, as well as older people and people with disabilities.
The Government of Croatia granted temporary protection status to Ukrainian refugees initially for one year which has been prolonged several times lasting until March 2026. The temporary protection status provides refugees with the right to health care, education, social protection, and employment, but it was observed that access to these rights and services remains limited due to the low capacities of service providers and limited knowledge of the exact whereabouts of the refugees.
At the same time, an exceptional growth in the number of international protection seekers in Croatia has been observed from 2022 onwards. International protection requests in 2022 exceeded the total number of requests submitted in the previous 7 years in the country and figures are even higher in 2023, reflecting the main world geopolitical conflicts, crises, and natural disasters. Most newly arrived persons are women, children, families, persons with disabilities, gender-based violence (GBV) survivors, and single women with small children, but there is also a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied and separated children. Unaccompanied and separated children often struggle to obtain essential information regarding family reunification, available services, and school enrolment.
Areas of interventions
Child protection and integration
Children are accommodated without anamnesis, personal documents and documents related to education, and due to agitation and exhaustion, they often do not know where they are.
Moreover, many of them leave the service provider soon after the accommodation service terminates due to inconsistencies in the reception and integration system (Deep Dive Analysis, UNICEF, 2021). Therefore, high-quality case management, guardianship and family- and community-based services for unaccompanied and separated children should be further developed.
Inclusion in education system
Once enrolled into school, children who speak Croatian as an additional language can attend two rounds of 70 hours of Croatian language courses for free, after which they can receive additional language support through after-school classes, if necessary. The language courses are covered by the Ministry of Education’s budget. Schools can implement free standardized language tests with the support of the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education. The availability of those tests is a result of the collaboration between the NCEEE and UNICEF. If there are curricular differences, they are addressed first through a centralized nostrification process and then subsequently on the school level. The integration of migrants and second language speakers into schools and kindergartens is threefold: first, it is important to have good data, so that local schools and kindergartens have information about unenrolled students. Second, it is important to support kindergartens and schools in the educational and social integration of migrants and second language speakers. This does not just mean for them to acquire Croatian, but for Croatians to make efforts at intercultural communication and understanding.
Early childhood development
The early childhood period, from birth to eight years old, is a critical phase for a child's holistic development, encompassing their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth. However, service providers often face a shortage of resources and expertise necessary to address the cultural and linguistic diversity of migrant children, effectively respond to potential trauma they may have experienced, and meet their specific needs. Moreover, the lack of an early identification system to identify vulnerabilities in young children, particularly in identifying and addressing the unique needs of children with disabilities, exacerbates the issue. Furthermore, ensuring the inclusion of these children in community and early childhood development service provision, from early childhood education and care to healthcare, is also a challenge. Providing access to information regarding services and rights is crucial for supporting the integration of families into communities. Therefore, it is essential to enhance the capacities of early childhood development (ECD) professionals and other stakeholders involved in identifying and supporting vulnerable migrant young children and their caregivers, including refugees from Ukraine, to appropriately address their needs and secure their access to information and integration into communities.
Collection of data on UASC
The problem of a lack of centralised collection of data on unaccompanied and separated children is still present. Although there is an exchange of data from the line ministries and service providers, the data differs across and within sectors. Improvement in this area would allow insight into the exact number of unaccompanied and separated children in the country, accommodation and legal status, and information on inclusion in education and on guardians.
To support authorities and other stakeholders in Croatia hosting migrant and refugee children and their families and to strengthen mechanisms, system, services and infrastructure to better respond to the needs and rights of refugee and migrant children, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration SEM and UNICEF Croatia have designed this programme that is funded by the Swiss Government.
The objective
Children and families in migration, including refugees from Ukraine in Croatia and unaccompanied and separated children (UASC), are integrated into the Croatian national systems, have their needs timely assessed and met through effective access to integrated and high-quality protection, mental health and psychosocial support, integration measures in the school environment as well as access to key early childhood development (ECD) community- based services and social transfers in the social welfare system.
Desired outcomes of the programme
All migrant children, adolescents, and their families have their needs timely assessed and met through:
- access to high-quality guardianship, best interest assessment, case management, provision of the family- and community-based services and monitoring
- access to integrated provision of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS)
- access to integration measures in a school environment and in local communities
- timely identified and adequate support of the most vulnerable young children and their caregivers in migrations in accessing inclusive and quality community based ECD services, especially early childhood education and care (ECEC), and early childhood intervention (ECI) services
- access to adequate social transfers and services.
Direct beneficiaries
It is expected that the activities within the programme in Croatia will directly reach more than:
- 6.900 migrant children who will benefit from timely received support and services
- 700 unaccompanied and separated children who will receive individual case management and community-based services
- 1.000 children and caregivers who will access mental health and psychosocial support
- 530 children with migrant backgrounds who will access formal education
- 970 households benefitting from improved or additional social transfers
- 2.800 people through messaging on prevention and access to services
- 800 professionals who will have their capacities strengthened
By strengthening policy frameworks and capacities and ensuring adequate support and services, the programme should indirectly reach more than 15.000 students in elementary and high schools, 300 children (0-6 years) accessing early education and early childhood intervention services and 9.200 professionals in social welfare, interior, education, and health system.
Partners
Partners
The Ministry of the Interior
will support the implementation of programme activities to strengthen the capacity of frontline workers in reception centers for families and children, including unaccompanied and separated children seeking international protection.
The Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy
will help ensure the implementation of programme activities as well as ensure the sustainability of all capacity-building interventions through Social Welfare Academy and Croatian Institute for Social Work established in January 2023.
The Ministry of Science, Education and Youth
plays a crucial role in sharing information about the integration needs of schools and students in migration, including children from Ukraine. The learnings from the programme will inform the Ministry’s guidance for the integration of students in migration, including those from Ukraine when it comes to teaching, assessment, social integration, and wellbeing. The Ministry will also play a key role in ensuring the supply of learning materials in schools.
Ministry of Health
is an important partner in the programme.
The Croatian Institute for Social Work
is responsible for the implementation of programme activities related to the improved access to high-quality guardianship (identification, appointment, and monitoring), best interest assessment, case management, provision of family- and community-based services and monitoring.
The Education and Teacher Training Agency
is a key partner in helping develop adapted curricula for Ukrainian students.
The National Centre for the External Evaluation of Education
will conduct a standardised assessment of the level of the Croatian language knowledge of students in migration as well as Ukrainian students enrolled in Croatian schools.
The Center for Provision of Community-based Services Zagreb-Dugave
is responsible for the implementation of programme activities relating to improved family- and community-based services, also ensuring key supplies, services and leisure time activities for unaccompanied and separated children, as well as further advocacy and development of foster care of unaccompanied and separated children. With strengthening capacities of their experts, they will ensure access to integrated provision of mental health and psychosocial support for unaccompanied and separated children.
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, of the University of Zagreb
will be responsible for the development of e-learning programmes for educators and other professionals. These programmes will be designed to ensure the well-being of migrant children and provide them with the best opportunities for growth and learning across the educational system. The aim is to create a holistic approach to education that benefits both students and educators, ultimately contributing to the broader goal of building a more equitable and inclusive society.
Roda – Parents in Action
will focus on improving access to information for parents/caregivers of young children from Ukraine and those in migration through a website. The goal is to upgrade our existing platform tailored to parents and caregivers of children from Ukraine aged 0 to 7 with information aimed at migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Such an easily accessible source of relevant information will assist families with overcoming the challenges of integrating into a new environment by offering clear guidance on organizing life in Croatia.
The website will improve accessibility to information while offering crucial support through informative and educational content. The website aims not only to empower individuals to understand and exercise their rights but also to help them maintain their mental and physical well-being while ensuring the safe and supportive upbringing of their children.
The Croatian Association for Early Childhood Intervention
As an important partner in the area of early childhood intervention, will focus on providing culturally responsive ECI support that respects diverse cultures and backgrounds. Many professionals in the early intervention system lack sufficient knowledge about working with families from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and they are often not familiar with the impact of trauma on both parents and children. Increased migration in recent years has further highlighted the need for professional training on how to recognize and address the needs of these families in a way that is sensitive to their unique circumstances. Educating professionals on language support, cultural differences, trauma, and the specific challenges faced by migrants will enable them to provide higher-quality and more effective and inclusive support. Therefore, the programme lead by CAECI will focus on strengthening the competencies of professionals working in health, social welfare, and education sectors and institutions in the field of modern, family-centered early childhood intervention with a focus on intersectoral collaboration.
Brave Phone for Children
is responsible for the implementation of programme activities relating to ensuring access to mental health and psychosocial support services, as well as supporting integration of refugee and migrant children in the local community
Center for Missing and Exploited Children Croatia
is responsible for development of a specialized tool-kit for professionals working with unaccompanied and separated children containing information on relevant topics of prevention and mitigation of risks of gender-based violence, trafficking, smuggling, trauma-informed care and access to legal support to address immediate risks and promote long-term well-being of unaccompanied and separated children.
This is not the first cooperation between SEM and UNICEF – in 2023, the "Supporting integration of refugee and migrant children in host EU countries" joint programme was successfully implemented.
