Using a qualitative approach, this study captures the voices of juveniles in correctional facilities, orphanages and street environments in Zambia. Findings reveal patterns of emotional distress, societal exclusion and systemic failures that contribute to cycles of vulnerability and marginalization.

This study analyzed data from residential care settings in Victoria, Australia, to examine how missing episodes intersect with worker-identified concerns about sexual and criminal exploitation among children and young people. Findings suggest that going missing may signal ongoing, overlapping patterns of exploitation-related harm—rather than isolated vulnerability—highlighting the need to view these incidents as part of sustained exploitation trajectories.

This scoping review of 29 studies finds that individuals with care experience face significantly higher rates of mental and physical health challenges across the life course, though research has largely focused on younger populations. It highlights key gaps, particularly in understanding the long-term physical health outcomes of care leavers and the need for clearer distinctions and broader definitions of wellbeing in future research.

This study explores how children and youth in residential care in Australia understand the concept of “home,” finding it is often defined by the absence of harm but marked by gaps in security, control, relationships, and belonging. It concludes that institutional structures and staff instability limit meaningful experiences of home, highlighting the need for more consistent, relational, and youth-centered care environments.

This study assessed the physical health status of children residing in orphanage homes in Lucknow district, India. It found while most had normal nutritional status, many faced challenges, including high school dropout rates, signs of micronutrient deficiencies, and poor oral hygiene.

This study compares posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outcomes among adolescents affected by an earthquake, finding that those in residential care experienced more persistent symptoms and higher psychiatric comorbidities than peers living with families. It highlights the role of prior adversity—particularly physical neglect—as a key predictor of PTSD and underscores the need for further research to better support vulnerable children in care after disasters.

This paper reflects on an author’s return to former orphanage sites in Australia—now repurposed as commercial properties—where personal memories of abuse and neglect resurface. It explores how survivor testimony and memory activism can challenge the erasure of these histories, highlighting tensions between commercial interests and efforts to memorialize sites of past harm.

This study reviews existing research on the challenges faced by orphans in Jammu and Kashmir, India, highlighting that while some children remain with extended family, others are placed in orphanages when relatives cannot provide care. The review finds that orphans in the region face multiple social, economic, psychological, and health challenges throughout their lives.

In Myanmar, concerns have been raised that clientelism may be facilitating the recruitment of children into unregistered facilities, putting children at risk. This study uses clientelism theory and examines relationships between stakeholders involved in forty-five residential care facilities in Myanmar. It finds clientelism as a distinct driver of child institutionalization in Myanmar and as a mechanism that facilitates the recruitment and admission of children into unregulated residential care facilities, undermining their rights and safety.

This scoping review synthesises evidence from 77 studies (2014–2024) on violence against children in foster, residential, and kinship care, finding neglect to be the most common form of maltreatment, alongside physical, emotional, sexual, and peer violence across settings. While evidence on effective interventions is limited, the review highlights key risk factors and consequences, underscores the protective role of supportive relationships and trauma-informed care, and calls for stronger family-based care, oversight, and child-centred practices to reduce harm and promote well-being.