Cost of Care and Redirection of Resources

Developing a high quality alternative care system requires adequate funding and resources. In countries that are working to reform their care systems, efforts are needed to redirect financing from residential care options towards new initiatives that support parents, prevent family separation, and provide children with a range of family and community based care alternatives.

Cost-benefit studies of different forms of alternative care demonstrate that it makes good economic sense for governments to invest in family based alternatives rather than residential care. While costs may increase for a temporary period as countries make the shift to family-based care – for example to fund training of social workers, develop social welfare services and establish tracing and foster programmes – in the long run it costs less than keeping children in institutions where funds are required to pay salaries for staff, maintain buildings and provide food and other services. The bottom line is that for the cost of keeping one child in residential care, many more girls and boys can be supported within families.

Funding for care reform involves allocating (or redirecting) resources from institutional care towards a range of family-based care services, investing in the development of a competent social welfare workforce, supporting carers, and providing financial and practical support to children leaving care. It also means investing in programmes that tackle the factors that lead to family separation and children being placed in alternative care – such as poverty, unemployment, disability, health and conflict. This could include promoting access to basic health, education and housing services, developing social protection and financial assistance initiatives, and working to strengthen families through parenting education or counselling.

Governments also need to make a commitment to putting in place licensing and regulation mechanisms to ensure that funding of care is motivated by children’s best interest rather than the financial benefit of the provider – and that resources are directed towards families rather than institutions. Unfortunately in many countries, there are vested interests in admitting or keeping children within formal care (particularly residential facilities) for profit-making, and large numbers of private care facilities operate outside the control of authorities.

The literature in this section focuses on budget and cost analysis pertaining to children’s care, including preventive services to support family based care and the provision of a range of alternative care options.

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The Strategy for Ensuring the Right of Every Child in Ukraine to Grow up in a Family Environment Costing Model and Resource Requirements

UNICEF and Maestral, 22 Dec 2025

The Costing Model and Resource Requirements report presents a comprehensive financial analysis of Ukraine’s National Strategy to ensure every child grows up in a family environment. It estimates the resources required to implement the Strategy and its multi-year implementation plan across national, oblast and hromada levels, with a focus on strengthening families, expanding family-based care, reintegrating displaced children and transforming institutional care.

Economics of Better Care

UNICEF and Maestral, 16 Dec 2025

This paper outlines the economic case for investing in family- and community-based care as a foundation for children’s well-being and long-term human capital development. Focusing on Ukraine, the paper highlights systemic underinvestment in social services and argues that rebalancing public spending toward an integrated “cash plus care” approach would generate significant economic and social returns.

Kenya Package on Costing the Changing the Way We Care Kafaalah and Case Management Scaling Models

Changing the Way We Care, 01 Nov 2025

This package of materials encompasses a comprehensive costing framework for scaling two key care reform models implemented by the Changing the Way We Care initiative in Kenya—Kafaalah and Case Management for Reintegration.

Investing in Disability Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Care and Support Systems Across the Life Cycle in Kenya

Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, 01 Oct 2025

This resource presents a costed policy study on investing in disability-inclusive and gender-responsive community care and support systems across the life cycle in Kenya, developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

Managing children’s residential care

Office of Education, U.K., 12 Sep 2025

This report examines the challenges faced by local authorities in providing cost-effective, high-quality residential care for looked-after children in England, where numbers have risen to 83,630 as of March 2024.

A System Stretched Beyond Its Elastic Limits: The South African Foster Care Grant System

Sipho Sibanda, 04 Sep 2025

This review explores South Africa’s foster care grant system, highlighting how rising numbers of children in foster care have strained social workers and overwhelmed the system. It examines challenges such as lapsing foster care orders, dependency concerns, and unsustainable practices, while offering recommendations to strengthen the system and better support children and families.

Kafaalah Costing Tool Template

Jushi Gitau, 01 Jul 2025

The Kafaalah Costing Tool Template is an Excel-based costing tool that designed to analyze of historical costing data from Changing the Way We Care’s demonstration work in Kenya related to Kafaalah.

Copy-of-CTWWC-Kenya_Kafaalah-Costing-Tool_Template.xlsx

The Homecoming Project: Examining the UK Church’s support for orphanages and family care for children globally

A Home For Good, 19 Nov 2024

Christians have a long-standing involvement in the care of children, both at home and overseas, with many of those at the forefront of establishing orphanages and residential settings motivated by their faith to take action.

Child Sponsorship and Transition: Interview with Laura Horvath - Helping Children Worldwide

Better Care Network, Transforming Children's Care Collaborative, Helping Children Worldwide, 30 Sep 2024

In this interview, BCN’s Senior Technical Advisor, Rebecca Nhep, speaks with Laura Horvath, from Helping Children Worldwide, about the impact of child sponsorship programs on the transition of residential care services and post transition family strengthening programs.