Shelter Self-Improvement in China | December 2011

UNIAP-MCA evaluates the progress of three shelters assisting trafficking victims

UNIAP-MCA evaluates the progress of three shelters assisting trafficking victims
In December 2011, an evaluation of China's Self-Improvement Shelter Project measured the progress of three government shelters that assist trafficked victims.

Created in partnership with UNIAP and the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), the Shelter Project aimed to enhance the capacity of shelters that identify, protect and reintegrate survivors. The objectives of this project were to provide more effective methods for the shelter operations, services and protection policies nationwide.

The project started in February 2011 when an innovative Shelter Improvement Project Office (SIPO) was set up to directly support the MCA in their efforts to refine and improve their ability to identify and respond to trafficked persons in government shelters.

The first stage of the project was a baseline survey and assessment of 3 different shelters to determine the specific areas for development so they abide by international standards.

The second stage was to develop a UNIAP Self-Improvement Project Toolkit and curriculum for capacity building. This provided service providers and policy makers with tools and guidelines to enable them to better assist trafficked victims throughout China. An integral part of the Toolkit is a comprehensive monitoring checklist that shelter managers and staff can use to rank their own service delivery according to their localised needs. The core areas for improvement were: facilities; safety and security; medical and psychosocial Services; educational and vocational Services; shelter management; and case management and victim empowerment. 

Next, three shelters in hotspot regions were chosen to pilot the project; the Kunming Municipal Shelter in Yunnan, the Guiyang Municipal Shelter in Guizhou, and the Minor Protection Centre in Guang Dong province. They were provided with capacity building and technical training by experts, on vital topics such as counselling, case-management and mental health.

Shelter management and staff members were also shown how to carry out their own shelter assessments using their Self-Improvement Project Toolkit. This enabled them to them to monitor and evaluate their own progress throughout the year. Comprehensive assessments were carried out in all three shelters during the training and good practices were shared amongst the participants.

The UNIAP-MCA Project team conducted a thorough process based evaluation of the Shelter project in all three pilot shelters. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used such as interviews, focus groups, observations and surveys. The baseline survey, and the Self-Improvement Project Toolkit and were both used as a benchmark.

The evaluation showed some interesting results. For example, the shelter in Guang Dong had started using more targeted services for trafficked victims such as more intensive case-management, counselling, and documentation. The director of Social Work emphasised that ‘the most important thing the training taught us to use a child centred approach with the children’. There were pictures of the children and their artwork throughout the shelter which gave them ownership over their ‘new home’, rather than them viewing it merely as temporary shelter. He said that ‘by encouraging the children to be part of the decision making process regarding all aspects of their lives,’ they have become empowered. The shelter staff added that the children felt that their ‘input and worth was appreciated for the first time their lives.’

The Guang Dong Shelter also started using marketability training such as cooking, hairdressing and creating artwork that they sell in markets. The children were able to work towards their future livelihoods and learn life skills in the process, as well as fundraising.

An interesting and innovative development this shelter made was a suggestion book that was created to provide the children with the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback about the shelter. This had been well utilised by the children, and the highlight of this book was the parallel page that staff used to respond to the children’s comments. This shelter was motivated to continue with their progress, and was enthusiastic about creating a Shelter Network to improve the referral system to enable more effective reintegration of their beneficiaries. 

The Guiyang Shelter readily participated in all the training and assessment that was provided. The staff acknowledged that ‘there was a lot of room for improvement’ in their service delivery. After the second training, they adapted many of the case management forms from the operational guide that they could use with clients. They also began to document important information such as the client’s history and their physical and psychological wellbeing. The staff shared that ‘after the training, we know how to identify trafficked persons whereas in past we only relied on the description of the clients. Now we understand the indicators of trafficked persons.’ The staff members planned to mobilize social resources such as college students to act as volunteers to teach the children, and encourage graduating students to donate their old clothes for the children.

In the Kunming Shelter, the staff members have started to utilise some of the tools and techniques they learnt in the training. The Deputy Shelter manager stated with the support of this project, ‘we started to apply case management principles and practices.’ They also used the COMMIT identification cards in their shelter to advise their staff of possible indicators of human trafficking. The Shelter Manager claimed that ‘the identification of trafficking victims within their shelter has increased which helped us to provide better care for our clients.’

An Operational Guide: Services to Trafficking Victims in Shelters in China’ was developed over the duration of the project, and was finalised once the process was refined through many workshops. This Operational Guide was packaged, published and disseminated across other shelters in China so that other service providers can benefit from the positive outcome the three pilot shelters already demonstrated.