What is Child Development?

Child Development refers to the sequence of physical, language, thought and emotional changes that occur in a child from birth to the beginning of adulthood. During this process a child progresses from dependency on their parents/guardians to increasing independence. Child Development is strongly influenced by genetic factors (genes passed on from their parents) and events during prenatal life. It is also influenced by environmental facts and the child’s learning capacity.

Child Development can be actively enhanced through targeted therapeutic intervention and the ‘just right’ home-based practice, recommended by Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists.

What does Child Development include?

Child Development covers the full scope of skills that a child masters over their life span including development in:

i)    Cogntion – the ability to learn  and problems solve.

ii)   Social interaction and emotional regulation – interacting with others and mastering self-control

iii)  Speech and Language – understanding and using language, reading and communicating

iv)  Physical skills – fine motor (finger) skills and gross motor (whole body) skills

v)  Sensory awareness – the registration of sensory information for use

Why is Child Development Important?

Observing and monitoring child development is an important tool to ensure that children meet their ‘developmental milestones’. Developmental milestones (a ‘loose’ list of developmental skills that believed to be mastered at roughly the same time for all children but that are far from exact) act as a useful guideline of ideal development.

By checking a child’s developmental progress at particular age markers against these arbitrary time frames, it allows a ‘check in’ to ensure that the child is roughly ‘on track’ for their age. If not, this checking of developmental milestones can be helpful in the early detection of any hiccups in development. This ‘check’ is usually carried out through child/mother services and Paediatricians as infants and toddlers, and later through preschool and school term skills assessments.

The earliest possible detection (and early intervention treatment if appropriate) of developmental challenges can be helpful in minimizing the impact these developmental hiccups can have on a child’s skill development and subsequently their confidence or serve as an indicator of a possible future diagnosis.

Developmental milestone checklists or charts are used as a guide as to what is ‘normal’ for a particular age range and can be used to highlight any areas in which a child might be delayed. However, it is important to be aware that while child development has a predictable sequence, all children are unique in their developmental journey and the times frames that they meet the many developmental milestones.

Problems in Child Development:

Problems in child development can arise due to: genetics, prenatal circumstances, the presence of a specific diagnosis or medical factors, and/or the lack of opportunity or exposure to helpful stimuli. Specific assessment by the best fit professional (which may initially be the GP or Paediatrician, and then Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist, Psychologist and/or Physiotherapist) can provide clarity about the developmental issues and extent of concern as well as can help to formulate a plan to overcome the challenge(s). As the process of child development involves multiple skills developing simultaneously, there may then be benefit in consulting multiple professionals.

Overcoming the developmental challenges is crucial to maximizing the ease and speed of development, minimizing the gap that occur between a child’s ability and those of their same aged peers, the confidence of the child as well as the frustration that can be encountered by the child’s parents and/or caregivers.

According to the Gazette Notice no. 1123 of 2021, the portfolio functions of the Department of Child Development are:

1. Child Policy,
2. Child Development, and
3. Street Children.

The guiding policy and regulations for this mandate is:

1. The 2015 National Child Policy;
2. The National Plan of Action for Children in Zambia 2015;
3. National Standards and guidelines for service programmes for OVC in Zambia (2016);
4. The National Prevention and Response Plan on Ending Violence Against Children (2021 – 2025).
5. The National Child Safeguarding Framework;
6. The National Child Protection Framework;
7. Child Sector National Coordination Framework (TORs for National and District);
8. Case Management tools for Removal, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Children found on the Streets 
9. National Skills Training and Reintegration Programme for Children on the Street: Exit Strategy 
   
10. National Street Outreach and Mentorship Manual
    
11. The Alternative Care and Reintegration Guidelines.
    

OVERVIEW OF THE CHILD PROTECTION SECTION

 Child Protection Section: responsible for facilitating the rehabilitation and reintegration of children in the community; enforcement of various legislation pertaining to children, prevention and responding to Violence against Children and mobilisation of resources for child care service providers.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CHILD PROTECTION SECTION

 Child Protection Section: responsible for:

1. design and formulate policy on child development activities; and the reintegration of children in need of care and protection;
2. facilitating child protection and child safeguarding;

• coordinating the mobilisation and identification of street children;

1. coordinating the rehabilitation and reintegration of street children in the community;
2. enforcement of child focused-legislation pertaining to children;
3. facilitate measures and strategies designed to prevent, respond and end violence against children and abuse;

• coordinate referral mechanism to ensure child protection and safety; and
• mobilisation of resources for child care service providers

SUB PROGRAMME:

CHILD WELFARE

OBJECTIVE: coordinate and strengthen multisector programmes for removal, rehabilitation and reintegration of children on the street

Identification & Removal, Assessment & Rehabilitation and Exit Plan & Reintegration of Street Children:

The implementation of this programme has three distinct processes:

1. IDENTIFICATION & REMOVAL – done through outreach workers who are the child development workers and care givers from child care institution to enlighten the street children on negative vices in the streets. This requires training in child handling skills including psycho social skills. Once the children are guided and accept, they are removed from the street and are taken into children’s homes for individual care management of assessing each child’s rehabilitation pathway, home tracing and reintegration.

Current Status – developed a draft National Outreach Manual to inform outreach programmes for both State and Non-State Actors and to be used in building capacities for child development officers, outreach educators and care givers to mention some. There us need for more effective child assessment centres to help determine the needs of the child in order to appropriately rehabilitate and reintegrate the children

1. ASSESSMENT & REHABILITATION – for children aged 0-6 – working with social welfare the child may be committed to a home, or admitted to kinship and foster care or may be adopted into a family. When a child is committed to a home, an assessment and tracing of family is done to facilitate for reintegration as institutionalization is a measure of last resort

 6-15 years – this programme involves working with stakeholders to facilitate placing the children in schools,    including boarding primary school while home tracing and home assessment is being done for reintegration   back into the family

   15-25years – provide skills development through the MOU with ZNS skills training camps. The provisions for    training including personal effects for the trainees, clothing and beddings as well as providing teaching and       learning materials. It also includes transporting the trainees to the camps and back as well as providing for             start-up kits and stipend after they graduate.

1. EXIT PLAN & REINTEGRATION – this is the exercise that comes in after an assessment of the child and family has been done and/or after a child has acquired the skills. After assessment of family socio-economic status – the family will receive parental guidance, training in income generation and a start-up package for empowerment or will be registered for social cash transfer. For the child who has received skills – they will be resettled and are provided with a start-up kit in their area of expertise.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

1. developing street outreach manual/guidelines for the removal of children from the street to guide the programme and to be used for capacity building;
2. develop a referral coordination mechanism for rehabilitation pathways for street children;
3. coordinate a multisector coordination mechanism to facilitate the implementation of the programme and to mitigate streetism and street children;
4. implement the empowerment programme for street children trained under ZNS and other partners that offer skills training; and
5. socio-economic empowerment of families with children on the street engage with stakeholders to include this group in empowerment programmes.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHILD RIGHTS INSPECTION AND STANDARDS SECTION

OVERALL OBJECTIVE: enforce child protection rights in order to safeguard and uphold children’s rights and wellbeing and ensure compliance and adherence in the implementation child rights.

Child Rights Regulations and Standards Section

Child Rights Regulations and Standards is important to enable training of care givers so as to provide them with understanding of what is expected of them so as to meet the acceptable level and allow for sanctions should they fail to follow the regulations and meet the standards. Additionally, the meeting of the expected standards entails that no child will have sub-standard life patterns and ensure they all grow in similar environments to their full potential and to the best they would want to be.

Child Rights Regulations refers to the system of rules provided to allow regulating targeted actions targeted at promoting, upholding the life and wellbeing of all children based on the principle of Best Interest of the child and the principle of Non-Discrimination. This principle reflects the desired outcomes of the implementation of policy strategies and measures in child development and child welfare. In this case it refers to how the institution/individuals providing nurturing, care and development services to children are managed. It also helps ensure children in the institution live at minimum acceptable standards.

Child Rights Standards are defined as statements of what is expected in promoting and upholding child rights and in providing child care, protection and welfare services. Standards are what is used as a guide for service delivery and a basis for training and supervision of service providers. The format for OVC care standards provides a balance of structure and flexibility that addresses the concerns of standards. The format links desired outcomes and measurable goals to essential actions that define the service-standards provide flexibility, while assuring that consistency across programs is achieved.

MAIN PROGRAMMES:

1. Develop and review the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to facilitate the evaluation of the implementation of the National Child Policy and the National Action Plan
2. Develop and review monitoring and evaluation tools to be used to ascertain adherence and compliance to the upholding and promotion of child rights;
3. Capacity build provincial, district and community child protection committees in monitoring the preventing, reporting and responding to violence against children, child neglect and child abuse;
4. Undertake monitoring to institutions with children to evaluate their chid safeguarding and protection policies and to ensure adherence to child rights provisions;
5. request data from State and non-state actors on the rights and welfare of children in the Republic and facilitate preparation of national, regional and international obligations; and
6. inspect child facility with a view to assessing the conditions of children held in those places and make recommendations to redress existing challenges.

Information, Education and Communication Section: responsible for:

• the advocacy on child development issues in order to raise awareness and promote the attainment of the rights children;
• collaborate with relevant institutions and ministries to exchange information relating to child development;
• coordinates the commemoration of Mark Days;
• conduct research on matters relating to the promotion and advancement of child rights and development;

Child Participation:

OBJECTIVE: facilitate the meaningful participation of children in child development in order to promote and enhance child participation in decision making

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

1. Coordinate the development of a National Child Participation Framework, which will provide for procedures and practices in child participation;
2. Facilitate awareness, sensitization and advocacy on child rights promotion and wellbeing;
3. Develop messages and IEC materials to facilitate
4. Facilitate the commemoration of child Mark Days – International Day of Children’s Broadcasting (IDCB first Saturday of March), Day of the African Child (DAC 16^th June), International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC 11^th October), World Children’s Day (20^th November); and
5. Conduct an assessment on the impact of COVID on children’s wellbeing and through a multi sector engagement develop interventions to mitigate the negative effects.