Family based Factors Leading to Street Children Phenomenon in Kenya

In the last four decades, Kenyans have witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of street children in the country�s urban centers. This has led to development of several interventional measures to curb the menace, although with little success. Academic evidence from various studies done on street children in Kenya has consistently implied a dialectic connection between the family system and street children phenomenon in Kenya. This paper is a culmination of various studies carried out by the authors and other researchers and seeks to specifically interrogate factors in the family system in Kenya, which contributes to children leaving homes to live on the streets. The paper is a critique to the existing strategies that emphasize dealing with street children through repatriation, rehabilitation, placement in charitable children institutions, foster care and juvenile confinement. The authors argue that not much has been done at the policy level on how to improve the deteriorating family conditions in the society, yet it is the main push factor for influx of street children. According to this paper, stability in family system is significant in enhancing socio-economic sustainability and reducing social deficiencies in interventional programmes dealing with street children in Kenya. The paper recommends a national moral and value system that considers the significance and stability of the basic institutions of the society.