This landmark national assessment, led by the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Department of Social Services with UNICEF support, provides the first comprehensive mapping of residential childcare institutions across Bangladesh. Surveying 157 facilities and profiling over 10,600 children, the study reveals an over-reliance on institutional care, often driven by poverty rather than protection needs. Many children placed in institutions still have living parents who, with adequate support, could care for them at home. The findings call for urgent reforms: strengthening gatekeeping and family support services, developing structured alternatives like foster and kinship care, and ensuring that institutional care is used only as a last resort. The study provides a strong evidence base to inform the National Plan of Action on Alternative Care (2026–2030), aimed at shifting Bangladesh toward a rights-based, family-first care system.
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