Thailand is an important country in which to study child welfare. It was the first country in the Asia Pacific region to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and in recent years there have been significant improvements in children's day-to-day lives, including reductions in infant mortality and improved primary educational outcomes.
For children growing up without parental care, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and Department for Children and Youth (DCY) have attempted to shift from institutional care by introducing support for kinship carers and foster care programmes. However, major challenges remain, and institutional care is still prioritised across the country. Accordingly, for the estimated 120,000 children in Thailand unable to live with their parents, the likelihood remains that they will live in large-scale, often unregulated, institutional settings.
The overall aim of this research project was to explore the experiences of children, parents and families involved in alternative care in Thailand. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the research reached 160 children living in alternative care and 20 of their parents and families. The children lived in a range of settings, including Migrant Learning Centres, Buddhist temples, Government Children’s Homes and NGO centres. In total, we accessed 13 care providers across four regions: Central (Bangkok and Chonburi), North (Tak and Chiang Mai), North East (Nong Khai), and South (Ja Na and Hat Yai).
The research was underpinned by a child rights perspective, with the premise that lessons learned directly from participants are important for policy and practice. Any reform of national care systems should be informed by the experiences of children, the people at the centre of these systems.
It is hoped that participants’ voices and views, presented through narrative and art, will enable government and non-government policy actors and practitioners to consider these lived realities and bring about improvements for children growing up in alternative care.
The full report and a summary report are available to download below.
