Set of Indicators
Children in Alternative Care and Adoption
Indicator 12. Proportion of children in formal kinship care of the total number of children in formal family-based care at the end of the year
How the indicator is calculated and what data countries need to provide
The indicator is calculated by dividing the total number of children in formal kinship care on 31 December of the reference year by the total number of children in formal family-based care arrangements on 31 December of the reference year.
- p = Total number of children in formal kinship care at the end of the year / Total number of children in formal family-based care at the end of the year
What data countries should collect to calculate the indicator:
- Total number of children in formal kinship care on 31 December of the reference year
- Total number of children in formal family-based care on 31 December of the reference year
How to measure and data sources
This indicator requires that data is available on the total number of children in formal kinship care on 31 December of the reference year. The indicator requires snapshot data, i.e. information showing the situation on a specific date – ideally, both the numerator and denominator should be measured on the same agreed date to ensure accuracy.
The coverage should include all formal family-based care arrangements at national and subnational level for children aged 0-17. The data are best collected in-country from the registers of the competent authorities that ordered the placements. In order to calculate the total number of children in formal kinship care arrangements, the competent authorities will need to maintain records on all admissions and exits of children to the formal family-based care system during the reference year including admissions and exits of children placed in formal kinship care and record the sex of the child upon admission and his or her age on 31 December of the reference year. Ideally, the same or similar data collection templates should be used by all data providers, as it eases aggregation of data and measurement of this indicator. Information should be collated at one central point to avoid duplication.
Statistical unit Person (the child)
Reference period Annually – on 31 December of the reference year
Disaggregation Sex, age[1] (0-2, 3–6, 7–17 years)
Analysis and interpretation
This indicator measures how many children aged 0-17 are living and receiving some care in formal kinship care arrangements at the end of the reference year, as a proportion of the total number of children who are living and receiving some care in formal family-based care arrangements. It measures “stock” and annual changes in the number. In conjunction with indicators on the proportion of children in formal foster care and other types of formal family-based care, it helps to understand the distribution of children by type of family-based care arrangement and how it changes over time. This indicator should be interpreted in conjunction with information on the quality of the care provided in formal kinship care arrangements, data on outcomes for children from formal reviews or evaluations of formal kinship care arrangements, among other data. An analysis of this indicator by sex and age is recommended to better understand the sex and age distribution of children in formal kinship care arrangements and raise awareness of the characteristics of children who are more likely to be placed in formal kinship care than others due to their sex or age. This helps, for example, to appropriately target community-based prevention and support services to children and their families and secure the necessary investments.
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Reference:
[1] Age of the child on 31 December of the reference year.