There are still serious gaps in the protection offered to migrant children in various dimensions, such as accommodation and access to basic services. To help address these gaps, the European Commission, through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, will fund projects to exchange good practices and provide necessary training to implement and support alternative care systems for migrant children, as well as effective alternatives to detention.

Types of actions to be funded include the exchange of good practices, training and/or logistic support for the implementation, expansion and/or improvement of:

• Alternative care systems for migrant children (e.g., foster care, family-based care, supervised independent living)
• Alternatives to detention, such as regular reporting to the authorities, the deposit of a financial guarantee or an obligation to stay at an assigned place.

This funding call will not support institutionalised care systems (or capacity-building for such systems), operating costs for alternative care systems (staff costs, rental of buildings, etc.) or research on alternative care systems or alternatives to detention.

All projects funded under this call should be elaborated in close partnership with or be led by appropriate key players, such as child protection agencies, authorities for children or social affairs, children’s ombudspersons, social services, health and mental health services, civil society organisations, the judiciary, academia, etc.

At least one public authority from the country or countries where the project is implemented must be involved either directly as an applicant or co-applicant or indirectly (for example, as beneficiary of the exchanges of good practices or training).

More information is available on the EU’s funding portal. The deadline to apply is 30 January 2020 at 17:00 Brussels time. Find out about other opportunities in this round of AMIF calls.