What is ICDP

ICDP = International Child Development Programme

ICDP is a Caregiver Programme.

ICDP’s commitment is to work for the benefit of children, youth and families worldwide towards a more peaceful and violence free society.

We aim to implement recent knowledge from scientific research in child development for the benefit of vulnerable and neglected children so that they can achieve their full potential through relationships with caregivers.

The ethos of ICDP is to provide for human care by activating empathy and by building caregivers’ competence; the focus is on quality relationships that enhance psychosocial development.

We focus on empowering caregivers, not instructing them.

More about ICDP Bangladesh

Levels of training

International

ICDP was founded in Norway in 1992 by Professor Karsten Hundeide togeter with Nicoletta Armstrong and Henning Rye. In 1994 ICDP was adopted as a methodology to be promoted by WHO.

ICDP has been active in 71 countries since its beginnings in 1992 and in 2023 it was active in 50.

ICDP developments on a large scale took place in Angola, Mozambique, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Guatemala, Brazil, El Salvador, Colombia, Macedonia and Ukraine. It is a country project in Norway, where it is coordinated by The Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs, and also in El Salvador where it is spread nationwide by the Salvadoran Institute for Integral Development of Childhood and Adolescence (ISNA). In Colombia, thanks to the support from UNICEF and local government bodies, ICDP has reached 250 000 families.

Based on recent research in child development, the ICDP psychosocial intervention programme aims to enhance and enrich the relationship between caregivers and their children. The ICDP programme is designed to identify and reactivate local cultural practices, in order to stimulate development that is authentic, sustainable and long lasting. The task of ICDP training is to sensitise, build competence and confidence in members of a community or an existing child caring system, so as to withdraw after some time and transfer the project to the local resource persons

IMPLEMENTATION

Level of training

ICDP offers 3 levels of training

Caregiver

Caregivers apply good quality interaction with their children.

Fascilitator

Fascilitators run group meetings with caregivers

Trainer

Trainers train new groups of fascilitators

Can ICDP be connected to Children's rights?

The ICDP is another expression of the same humanitarian spirit as it is encoded in the convention of children's rights. ICDP can be put in practise in any community to create positive condition for the fulfilment of fundamental children's rights: the right to be protected from violence and to receive the loving care and guidance from the immediate environment such is required to ensure healthy human development.

1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.

2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.

General comment no 7: "Focus: Early childhood development and rights". How ICDP supports: Builds sensitive, loving caregiving from birth. No 13: "Protection from all form of violence". How ICDP supports: Empowering caregivers with non- violent parenting skills.

Children Right Convention, Article 19