This study of adolescents in residential care in Portugal found that perceptions of psychological adjustment differ significantly between adolescents and their caregivers, with adolescents consistently reporting more emotional, behavioral, and peer-related difficulties. The findings highlight low agreement between informants and emphasize the need for multi-informant, developmentally sensitive assessments, greater inclusion of adolescents’ perspectives, and improved caregiver training and tailored mental health support.

This systematic review synthesised qualitative research on care-experienced children’s pathways into and through the criminal justice system, highlighting how factors such as trauma, a search for belonging, systemic challenges, and intersectionality shape their experiences. The findings underscore the need for trauma-informed approaches, stronger support systems, and reduced unnecessary criminal justice involvement to better respond to the needs of care-experienced children.

This scoping review examines trauma-informed parent training programs in child welfare, identifying 24 studies—mostly focused on foster or resource parents—with a few addressing birth parents’ own trauma. The review finds that these programs, often delivered in group formats, lead to meaningful improvements for both children and parents and highlight the growing promise of trauma-informed approaches in supporting families involved in child welfare.

This scoping review of 38 studies examines how narrative therapy is used with children and adolescents in foster care and finds that these young people often lack a sense of control and clear understanding of their life stories. It highlights therapeutic approaches such as externalization, re-authoring, and life story work as promising tools for strengthening identity and well-being, while noting the limited number of rigorously evaluated interventions for this population.

This study examined differences in emotional and behavioural problems among 400 adolescent orphans in Kerala, India using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to assess how sociodemographic factors shape mental health outcomes. The findings revealed significant variations by gender, religion, type of orphanhood, length and type of institutional care, underscoring the need for tailored psychosocial interventions that reflect these differences.

This report builds on previous research highlighting the multiple challenges facing children of mothers with out-of-home care (OHC) experience in the UK. It draws on data from young people born in 2000 who are part of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) to deepen understanding of the association between maternal OHC experience and poor behavioural and mental health outcomes.

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for families with young children involved in child protection services. While the interventions improved parenting sensitivity, attachment, and parental functioning, evidence for reducing maltreatment risk remains limited, highlighting the need for larger, more consistent studies.

This study explores the experiences of exploited orphans in institutional care in India and the factors that contribute to their cognitive resilience, using qualitative interviews with 20 children aged 12–16. Findings show that resilience is shaped by problem-solving skills, goal setting, self-regulation, peer support, education, and stable caregiving, highlighting the need for policies and interventions that strengthen both individual and environmental supports.

This study explores the experiences and challenges of caregivers providing trauma-informed care to foster children in a South African care facility. Findings highlight the emotional and practical difficulties faced by caregivers and emphasize the need for targeted training and support to strengthen their capacity and well-being.

The 2024 Annual Report of the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health highlights the Coalition’s expanding efforts to address the global mental health needs of children, youth, and caregivers.