🧭 With concrete examples: Gironde, Var, Pas-de-Calais, Seine-Saint-Denis, Yvelines, Haute-Savoie.
Link to the source
1️⃣ SUMMARY
These Guidelines were produced as part of a support mission to the DGCS, linked to an experiment initiated in 2025 in Gironde and in Var (p. 4). The starting point: in 2024, more than 55% of protective measures are placements outside the family, and placements account for 80% of expenditures, compared to less than 6% for educational actions at home (p. 6). The first part explains why to develop family-oriented responses, presents five types and lists points of vigilance (p. 6-24). The second part addresses the "how": diagnosis of pathways and the offer, governance, legal framework, HR and budget, support for teams, monitoring (p. 24-44). Four appendices cover relatives and volunteer third parties, data, law and bibliography.
2️⃣ WHAT TO REMEMBER
1️⃣ The placement with foster carers is declining. It represents 35% of placements in 2024 compared to 52% in 2014 (p. 6), and 50% of foster carers are 55 years old or older (p. 10). The document sees this as a challenge, even a major risk, for developing family-oriented responses (p. 10).
2️⃣ Rebalance, not eliminate. According to the document, no response is good or bad in itself: it all depends on the conditions of implementation (p. 14). The objective is not to eliminate institutional placements but to rebalance the offer according to each department (p. 29). The approach should not rely solely on a cost-saving objective (p. 18).
3️⃣ Relatives and volunteer third parties remain underutilised in France. Nearly 16,000 children (15,864) were entrusted by the judge to a relative or a trusted third party at the end of 2024 (p. 53). These placements represent about 8% of placements in France, compared to 47 % in the Netherlands and 27% in Great Britain (p. 13). The document sets conditions so that it is not just a simple palliative, including solid support (p. 13).
3️⃣ TO ACT
1️⃣ Existing tool cited: Existing tool cited: the "needs triangle" used in Great Britain, which inspired the ecosystemic framework of the Canadian AIDES programme, free of rights and used in France by some stakeholders (p. 20). . The document cites a research showing that shared tools help secure the assessment and allow parents and children to express their point of view (p. 20).
2️⃣ Existing approach cited: the family conferences, practiced experimentally in several departments; they are not a legal mechanism in France (p. 59). The document describes their steps (p. 59-60) and the necessary means: trained coordinators, raising awareness among teams and judges (p. 60).
3️⃣ Preparation for an announced action: the bill presented on 27 May 2026 notably plans to extend the assessment of a placement by a relative to emergency placements and make the compensation for sustainable and voluntary placements mandatory (p. 53). Status: bill, "under review" according to the document (p. 26). Not present in the document: External source (Weka): adopted by the National Assembly in July 2026, review in the Senate in October 2026 — not verified in the Official Journal.
4️⃣ 3 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
1️⃣ Will the reception in establishments disappear? No. The document aims for a rebalancing (p. 29) and invites to preserve, or even develop, collective receptions that meet specific needs (p. 22).
2️⃣ What is the difference between a trusted third party (TDC) and sustainable and voluntary reception (ADB)? The TDC is appointed by the judge, in a judicial framework; the ADB concerns a child entrusted to the department in an administrative framework, and the third party may not know the child previously (p. 11, 51-52). The maintenance allowance is due for the TDC but not, to date, for the ADB (p. 52).
3️⃣ Does home educational placement (PEAD) still exist? For the Court of Cassation (opinion of 14 February 2024, ruling of 2 october 2024), it falls under an AEMO, possibly with accommodation, and not under a placement (p. 9). The document states it is " in the process of extinction" (p. 6) and mentions its transformation into a reinforced AEMO (p. 22).
5️⃣ TO GO FURTHER
📰 On the blog: Social assistance for children, edition 2026 — beneficiaries, measures and expenses (2 July 2026) — https://www.pratiquesensante.com/blog/pratiques-15/l-aide-sociale-a-l-enfance-edition-2026-beneficiaires-mesures-et-depenses-departementales-associees-6018
and Open notebooks: Child protection: an ecosystem in full transformation - https://www.pratiquesensante.com/protection-enfance
📘 External resource: ONPE, "Protecting the child in the long term: issues and questions", summary sheet, March 2025 — https://onpe.france-enfance-protegee.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/fs-proteger_les_enfants_sur_le_long_terme_enjeux.pdf
6️⃣ #️⃣ HASHTAGS
#healthpractices #ChildProtection #ASE #FamilyReception #TrustedThirdParty #FamilyConferences #ParentingSupport #PublicPolicy
7️⃣ VIEW ON HEALTH PRACTICES
⚠️ Accessibility: document technique intended for departments; a list of acronyms aids reading (p. 47). No simplified version has been identified.
✅ Empowerment: the family conferences aim to enhance the empowerment of families and children (p. 59); the collection of views from young people and families is to be expected in the management of the project (p. 30, 33).
⚠️ Equity: not explicitly addressed; the document does mention the multiple vulnerabilities of families (poverty, precariousness, isolation…) (p. 19) and the allocation of TDC raised to €20 per day in Seine-Saint-Denis due to their economic situation (p. 24).
✅ Networking: partnerships with ARS, PJJ, National Education, CAF (p. 21); map of territorial actors (p. 31).
Assessment : the main strength is the link made between the substance (why) and the concrete conduct of change, illustrated with territorial examples; the main shortcoming is that the participation of children and families in the transformation process itself is announced but not detailed.
This article has been developed in accordance with the Charter
for the use of artificial intelligence by Pratiques en Santé.
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