An Assessment on Status of the Child Protection System in Kasarani Sub County, Nairobi County

Abstract

The child protection system in Kenya is corporately advanced than its peers in the region supported by a strong policy and legislative framework. However, the evidence indicates the CPS is still limited in its ability to prevent cases of child maltreatment as evidenced by the statistics. Using Kasarani Sub County, this study assessed the status of the CPS in terms of providing places of safety, the early warning system, and child-friendly reporting services. The study adopted the system theory which views child protection as a collection of different parts that work together to achieve a common goal. Descriptive research was adopted. Descriptive research designs can use either and/or both qualitative or quantitative approaches to research; this study adopted a qualitative approach. The target population was the 12 actors in the CPS at the sub county level and a member from each of these actor groups was selected to participate in an interview. The sample size of 12 respondents was selected using purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods. A semi-structured interview guide was used to gather the data and was administered using face-to-face methods with the research assistant taking notes and recording the interviews. The deductive approach to analysing qualitative data was used which was based on the study objectives. The data was presented in rich narratives and quotes and supported by discussion and interpretations. The findings revealed that places of safety were non-state CCIs in the sub county and these were used to temporarily shelter children in need of care and protection. The government officers had access to CCIs on an unconditional basis in terms of seeking shelter for children and also in undertaking follow-up of children in shelter. In terms of early warning system, schools were appreciated among the actors as important in identifying children in need of care and protection. The study found that despite knowledge and awareness on child-friendly reporting; actors lacked the skills and knowledge and experienced constraints in implementing it due to inadequate resources. The study recommends that state and non-state actors should improve their collaboration in providing safe temporary environments with the state providing more resources while ensuring these places follow guidelines of child protection. It is recommended that there should be concerted efforts to enhance the capacity of teachers and the early warning system in schools where children spend majority of their time. The study recommends for further collaborations between state and non-state agencies in providing financial, human, and technical expertise on providing child-friendly information and remedies especially for children in conflict with the law. There is need for further research on early warning system in schools and such a study would provide a means by which to determine what best practices are available and how these can be adopted in the context of Kenya’s education system. Additionally, there is need for quantitative research to assess the child protection system; such a study would adopt specific indicators and measures which can be used as an index to measure the performance of each of the CPS components.