Deadline: 30 January 2020

European Commission has announced “Protection of Children in Migration” Grant Program.

The objective of this call is to fund projects focusing on the exchange of good practices and/or provision of the necessary training across the Member States so as to support the implementation/expansion/improvement of alternative/non-institutionalised care systems for the migrant children (such as family-based care, or foster care, or supervised independent housing arrangements, etc.) and/or of effective alternatives to the detention of children on grounds related to migration. (Projects with an exclusively national/regional/local focus should seek AMIF funding via the National Programmes, taking account of projects already co-funded in this area.

Actions

• Exchange of good practices and/or training and/or logistic support for the implementation/expansion/improvement of alternative care systems for migrant children, such as foster care, family-based care and/or supervised independent living where appropriate.
• Exchange of good practices and/or training and/or logistic support for the implementation/expansion/improvement of effective alternatives to detention, such as regular reporting to the authorities (by the appointed representative/family-based care/foster carers), the deposit of a financial guarantee, or an obligation to stay at an assigned place.

This topic does not aim to fund actions involving:

• Institutionalised care systems
• Capacity-building for institutional care systems
• Operating costs for family-based/foster care systems/supervised independent living/alternatives to detention (such as the cost of hiring staff, rental of buildings, purchase of real estate etc.)
• Research on foster/family-based/independent living systems or alternatives to detention (there is already ample research available on these subjects – see bibliography below).

Outcomes

The projects financed under this topic should achieve the following outcomes:

• Creation/consolidation/expansion and improvement of foster/family-based/independent living alternative care systems that are better adapted to the needs of children and more apt to promote their sound development. Increased/improved use of family-based care/foster care/supervised independent housing for unaccompanied children.
• Creation/consolidation/expansion and improvement of effective and viable alternatives to the detention of migrant children, especially when detention is aimed to prevent absconding.
• Training and preparation of staff/foster carers/family-based carers for performing all tasks related to promoting the well-being of the children (suitable accommodation, access to basic services and support, pro-integration activities). Preparing the carers for being able to identify and cater for the individual needs of each child and to table a tailored response to meet them.
• Exchange of good practices and ‘know how’ across the Member States, as well as dissemination of the knowledge already accumulated on family-based alternative care systems and alternatives to detention across the national borders and at regional and local levels.
• Improved access to of alternative care systems and to effective alternatives to detention for the migrant children, measurable through indicators such as:
  • Number of migrant children who will benefit from the projects (Possibly disaggregated by age groups 0-14 and 15-17), and duration (for how long).
  • Number of training days that carers benefit from.
  • Number of places in alternative care (foster care, family-based care, (semi)-independent living etc.) covered (specifying if new places were created) by the project.
  • Number of places in alternatives to detention (specifying if new places were created) covered by the project.
  • Description of the services provided to unaccompanied minors (e.g. access to mental health, health and education/vocational training/labour market support) that were improved as a result of the project.

Budget Information

The grant amount of this program is EUR 1 700 000.

Eligibility Criteria

All the applicants and co-applicants must fulfil the following eligibility requirements for applications to be eligible.

• Legal Status
  • The following entities can apply as lead applicants:
    • public bodies
    • non-profit-making private entities
    • international organisations
  • The following entities can apply as co-applicants:
    • public bodies
    • non-profit-making private entities
    • profit making entities
    • international organisations
  • The following are not eligible, neither as applicants nor as co-applicants:
    • Union Agencies
    • natural persons
  • Affiliated entities, i.e. legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, should take part in the action as individual co-applicants in order to declare eligible costs unless there are affiliated to a public body.
• Country of establishment: With the exception of international organisations, applicants and co-applicants must be established in the following countries to be eligible:
  • the Member States of the European Union with the exception of Denmark
• International organisations can be established outside the above-mentioned countries.
• For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdomwithdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via given website.

For further information, please visit http://bit.ly/2YjKTZh