Executive Summary
In many countries around the world, systems of protection and care for children are in reform as a commitment to family care increases among governments, nongovernmental organizations, donors, advocates, communities, and families. However, there is limited understanding of the support available for the important work of transitioning residential care centers to family care and community services. This study seeks to map the landscape of support for transitioning residential care centers, specifically considering organizations or individuals who are providing or could provide assistance through on-the-ground, individualized coaching or technical support.
This report presents the findings of the survey of such organizations and individuals, which asked what services they offer, where they work, and many other important questions. Survey respondents have supported more than 1,500 transitioning residential care centers across 61 countries. While the findings show a significant level of experience in supporting all stages of a transition process, almost half reported they lack the resources and capacity to support the whole transition process. With over 5 million children1 currently in residential care and increasing pressure for those children to be reunified with their families or placed into family-based care, there is potentially a shortage of organizations and individuals that can provide support services to transitioning residential care centers.
This report serves as a tool for collaborative efforts that will build the capacity of and increase accessibility to transitioning support service providers. The ultimate goal of this report is to increase support for residential care centers to safely reunify children into families, build family-based care and community services, and transition their models of care in a way that allows them to contribute to broader care reform and strengthen family-based care efforts in their respective country.
