The area of alternative care for children is underpinned by a number of international conventions and legal frameworks. These include:

• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)

• Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993)

• Interagency Guiding Principles on Unaccompanied and Separated Children (2004)

The adoption of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in 2009 has laid out a clear path for all actors involved in care reforms, while international resources such as the Manual for the Measurement of Indicators for Children in Formal Care have helped to set global indicators for measuring and monitoring children’s care situations.  

At regional level, conventions such as the African Charter on the Welfare and Rights of the Child and the South Asian Regional Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia support alternative care options for children deprived of their families. Recent efforts to promote care reform have also led to domestic adaptation of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children within a number of countries, along with the development of national legislation, standards and policies on care.  In countries affected by HIV and AIDS, National Plans of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children also seek to support children without adequate care.