The Charter is open for signature by ALL national governments. By signing the Charter, governments commit to:

• Upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Investing in families, children, care leavers, and inclusive services.
• Ending violence against children and harmful practices like orphanage tourism.

Charter signatories are encouraged to:

• Demonstrate leadership by implementing the Charter’s objectives and commitments in ways that reflect national priorities and local realities.
• Join a global movement of governments working together to drive transformative change, amplifying your country’s voice and influence on the world stage.
• Inspire and be inspired across countries by sharing experiences, progress, and lessons learned, helping shape more effective interventions and investments around the world.
• Define the country’s own priorities and commitments to advance family care for all children within its national context.
• Participate in periodic learning events and exchanges to showcase their progress and to learn from peers. While there is no mandatory financial contribution, countries are encouraged to mobilise the necessary resources to deliver on their commitments.

Charter signatories are both reaffirming commitments already made and making new pledges/commitments to act. Countries that sign the Charter will:

• be recognised as a champion on this issue and have a global stage to showcase achievements and successes
• access global best practices and peer learning
• be eligible for technical assistance from FCDO-funded experts
• be invited to networking and learning events amongst other global leaders

Overall, countries will benefit from the transformative impacts that safe and nurturing family-based care can have including on poverty reduction, strengthening human capital and bolstering state and community resilience.

• All national governments are invited to stand alongside other global leaders by signing the charter—and by following through on their commitments with meaningful investment and implementation. Ministries can confirm support by sending a note verbale (or Ministerial-level letter) to the U.K. Mission in their country. 
• Civil society organisations and inter-governmental bodies are encouraged to formally endorse the Charter as a visible demonstration of their support for transforming care for children worldwide. To endorse the Charter, send a brief email or letter from the head of your organisation to: ChildrensCareReformCampaign@fcdo.gov.uk

 Governments that sign the Charter are encouraged to develop commitments, based on the specific context in which they work, which define specific actions towards long-term solutions for the safe and nurturing care of all children. All other actors, including inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, are encouraged to support governments to develop and implement commitments.

What are Commitments?

Commitments are specific actions that countries agree to implement and monitor, in order to put into action the key principles set out in the Charter, focusing on any of the following:

• Support families to prevent unnecessary family separation, ensuring safe and nurturing familybased alternative care and progressively ending the institutionalisation of all children 
• Call out and tackle harmful and unacceptable practices
• Increase financial resources and addressing issues that contribute to the placement of children in institutions
• Invest in key enablers to support improved social services to support a family for every child
• Defend children’s rights and learning from those with lived experience

Recognising that countries will be at different stages of their care reform journey, commitments should be context specific and driven by the priorities and resources of the country. Countries are encouraged to reach for the highest standard possible relative to the context in which they operate.

Guidance on Developing Commitments

Guidance has been created to support governments in designing ambitious, measurable, and context-specific commitments that align with the Charter’s principles. It includes practical criteria, examples, and participatory approaches to ensure commitments are realistic, well-resourced, and responsive to children’s needs.

View the Guidance: English, Spanish, French, and Arabic.

Video on Developing Commitments 

The video below provides an overview of the Guidance for Developing Commitments.

 Countries that sign the Charter are encouraged to make their own commitments describing specific actions they will take to realise the aims of the Charter. To support governments to develop and/or implement their commitments, Maestral International, with the support of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is coordinating the provision of technical assistance. 

There are two types of technical assistance (TA) available:

1. Technical assistance to develop commitments: Government signatories may request technical assistance from care reform advisors to support the development of robust and ambitious commitments. For example, support could include:  
   • Conducting or facilitating assessments of care systems, including support to use the Global Campaign Care System Assessment tool;
   • Facilitating participatory processes and consultations;  
   • Guidance on evidence and best practice;  
   • Providing a technical review of commitments ahead of submission.
2. Technical assistance to implement commitments: Technical assistance can also be requested after commitments have been made. The purpose of this support is to provide mentoring and expert guidance from global, regional, and national care reform specialists to help advance the implementation of commitments. Technical assistance is not intended to outsource the delivery of commitments. Instead, the assistance can provide direction, tools, and resources to guide and build capacity in your efforts to deliver high-quality implementation.

Guidance on Requesting Technical Assistance

Guidance has been developed to provide instructions on how governments can request technical support from a team of care reform advisors to develop or begin implementing those commitments. This includes a description of the different types of technical assistance available, ways it can be provided, and a step-by-step guidance for submitting requests. 

Video on Requesting Technical Assistance

This video provides a short overview on requesting technical assistance.

While the Global Charter presents a set of high-level, globally endorsed principles and core components for ending institutionalisation and transforming children’s care, it is intentionally concise and non-prescriptive. It does not address the detailed, nuanced, and context-specific issues that arise in care reform efforts across diverse contexts, countries, and systems.  An additional document has been developed to support those engaging technically with the Global Campaign by providing a deeper exploration of key themes introduced in the Global Charter on Children’s Care Reform. It draws on the global evidence base, links to foundational guidance and standards, and incorporates the experience and expertise of those with lived experience of care, technical experts, and practitioners.

It focuses on three parts:

1. Understanding family care
2. Including all children
3. Understanding key components of and contributors to care systems

The working group ensures the facilitation, consultation, and collaboration between a wide range of civil society, UN agencies, networks of individuals with lived experience of care, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, with the aim of shaping and contributing to successful global outcomes on care reform. The group is civil society-led and provides independent support and technical leadership to the campaign.

The group is co-convened by Better Care Network, Hope and Homes for Children, Save the Children, and UNICEF.

Membership in the Working Group is inclusive and open to all stakeholders with relevant expertise and capacities to contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the group. 

To become a member of the Working Group:

1. Become a member of the Transforming Children’s Care Collaborative
2. Navigate to the Global Campaign on Children's Care Working Group
3. Select "Request to Join."