In this article for Prism Magazine, a publication of Evangelicals for Social Action, the authors ask challenging questions about the role of 'orphanage tourism', where Westerners visit or volunteer to work at a residential care center (orphanage) in the developing world, whether the trip is arranged by a tour or travel company, a nonprofit, or by a church.

This Report from the international ministerial conference, held in Sofia, 21–22 November 2012, entitled 'Ending the placement of children under three in institutions: support nurturing families for all young children', brings together the presentations, political commitments and priority actions identified by the participants, including 20 governments from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

This report documents the work conducted by Save the Children in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs over a period of 7 years to strengthen the national child protection system and change the underlying paradigm for that system away from over-reliance on residential care and towards child and family centered responses.

Responsibletravel.com, a travel company operating from the UK since 2001 has issued Guidelines for partner operators for volunteering directly with vulnerable children, including in the context of orphanage volunteering.

This audit was conducted to determine whether the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana was sufficiently regulating the operations of Residential Homes for Children (orphanages) to ensure the care and protection of children living in institutions.

The objective of this study was to determine whether children's characteristics and/or institutional characteristics were predictors of severe punishments (including beatings) and/or frequency of punishments that children received from staff in Romanian institutions. 

In her annual report to the UN General Assembly, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General highlights the results of an expert consultation on violence in early childhood. The consultation highlighted the urgency of supporting families and caregivers in their child-rearing responsibilities and securing a responsive national child protection system to strengthen families’ capacity to raise young children in safe environments and prevent child abandonment and placement in residential care.

Across China, children and young people with disabilities confront discrimination in schools.

This graphic provides a visual representation of the causal framework of children’s institutionalization in Moldova. It was developed as part of the USAID/DCOF-funded project “Protecting children in Moldova from family separation, violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

This paper provides details of research into the gatekeeping system in Bulgaria for children under three and examples from recent Bulgarian and international practice. It suggests that gatekeeping could benefit from a social development orientation including activities to combat poverty and promote social inclusion through supporting community and family strengths.