RELAF Latin America
MJF has provided two grants to RELAF to strengthen their advocacy and communications capacity to better prevent the institutionalisation of children and adolescents and promote the right of every child to live in a family and community.
In 2019 MJF supported the RELAF seminar on “Ending the confinement of children and adolescents”, held in Brazil. The seminar supported RELAF to disseminate information on alternative care reform, develop/share tools to promote deinstitutionalisation, raise awareness on a child’s rights to family.
In 2020 MJF supported the Guanajuato, Mexico International Seminar, “Everyone deserves a family”. In addition, the Foundation is providing support to strengthen national network members advocacy and child care technical capacity in 3 countries; Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus of the MJF RELAF partnership has been on responding to the worsening situation for children’s welfare in the region. MJF funding was pivoted away from advocacy work to establish a crisis line for practitioners and policy actors to access for up to date advice and support on developing and delivering alternative care during the pandemic in the children’s best interests.