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News | July 15, 2020

Best Practices for Supporting the Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Chidlren from Formerly ISIS-Controlled Territories

By Mia Bloom and Heidi Ellis

This brief provides an overview of how past theory and intervention work in child trauma can offer a possible blueprint for approaches to successful R&R of children from formerly ISIS-controlled territories. International frameworks (e.g., Brookings,  the UN,  CSS in Zurich,  NHS in the UK,  EU RAN, ,  OSCE, ,  GCTF ) and scholarly work (e.g., Small Arms by Mia Bloom ) have started to identify some good or best practices for R&R programs. Generally, what is common across all is a comprehensive, multi-actor approach that includes principles such as engaging whole-of-society in providing gender- and age-sensitive individualized supports. A recently published Rehabilitation and Reintegration Framework (RRIF) draws on empirical research in child adversity to identify levers of change across multiple levels of the social ecology that will be central to supporting child returnees.  This brief contributes to this growing body of work by providing a specialized psychosocial approach based in child trauma theory and intervention research that directly addresses the multilevel needs of children returning from formerly ISIS-controlled territories. 

To view the full brief, click here.