Residential Care

Residential care refers to any group living arrangement where children are looked after by paid staff in a specially designated facility. It covers a wide variety of settings ranging from emergency shelters and small group homes, to larger-scale institutions such as orphanages or children’s homes. As a general rule, residential care should only be provided on a temporary basis, for example while efforts are made to promote family reintegration or to identify family based care options for children. In some cases however, certain forms of residential care can operate as a longer-term care solution for children.

Residential care can be a positive alternative for some girls and boys when it is used appropriately and meets certain standards. For example, small group home living arrangements or supported independent living can work well in cases where children (often older teenagers) don’t feel comfortable in a family setting, or where large groups of siblings want to stay together. Similarly in cases where children have suffered trauma, severe abuse or neglect, have a severe disability or require specialised support, small group settings where trained staff can provide therapeutic care may be an appropriate care option. As much as possible, residential facilities should be small, community-based, organised to resemble a family-type or small-group situation and allow for sufficient staff to provide individualised attention to children.

It is important to distinguish between residential care and institutional care, which should only be used as a last and temporary resort for children. Institutional care refers to large-scale group care within big institutional facilities and has been associated with a wide range of problems for children including physical, social and emotional under-development - with babies and infants under the age of three especially vulnerable to lasting harm. Long periods in an institution can deprive children of positive individual attention from consistent caregivers, make it difficult for them to assimilate back into a family and community, and are often linked to increased risk of sexual and physical abuse, a lack of stimulation, and harsh discipline.

In recent years, deinstitutionalisation has been at the heart of national care reform efforts, which seek to reduce reliance on institutional care and to promote family and community based care options for children instead. This includes efforts to promote ethical volunteerism within residential care centres, educate donors and to avoid proliferation of orphanages and children’s homes after humanitarian emergencies.

The documents in this section outline residential care options for children, examine the damaging impact of institutions, explore family and community-based care alternatives and describe care reform efforts including initiatives around ethical volunteerism.

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Socio-Psychological Predictors of Successful Integration of Institutionalized Adolescents into Mainstream Schools

E. V. Bakhvalova, A. V. Miklyaeva - Integration of Education, 2021

The study sought to reveal socio-psychological factors of successful integration of institutionalized adolescents into mainstream schools.

Preprint: ‘Tear down your institutions’. Empirical and evolutionary perspectives on institutional care in SOS Children’s Villages

Marinus H. van IJzendoorn and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg - PsyArXi, 2021

This study utilizes narrative and quantitative synthesis to review the scientific evidence on the associations between growing up in SOS villages and child development in various domains. Results showed developmental delays of SOS children compared with their peers in families. Compared to children in typical institutions SOS children do better on mental health but worse on physical growth. The preliminary evidence suggests that SOS Children’s Villages should move away from institutional arrangements to family care.

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The Legal Framework Of Orphanage Trafficking In Nepal: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention

Kate van Doore, Rebecca Nhep, 2021

This study examines Nepal’s compliance with international legal obligations, its child protection and anti-trafficking laws, and its criminal and procedural laws that regulate illegal transfer and trafficking of children. The study also raises issues regarding victim identification, inspection of child care homes and complaint mechanisms.

ผลกระทบของ Covid-19 ต่อแหล่งทนสน สนุน และการดําเนินงาน ของสถานรองรบเด็กเอกชน ที ใหการเลี ยงดเด็กในรูปแบบสถาบน: สรุปผลการศึกษาสำหรับองค์กรในประเทศที่ทำงานกับสถาบันรองรับเด็ก

Better Care Network, Law Futures Centre - Griffith Law School, World Childhood Foundation, Eriks Development Partner, 2021

โควิด-19 ก่อให้เกิดการหยุดชะงักอย่างไม่เคยปรากฏมาก่อนในระดับโลก รัฐบาลบังคับใช้มาตรการด้านสาธารณสุขในวงกว้าง ซึ่งรวมถึงคำสั่งให้อยู่บ้าน เคอร์ฟิว และข้อจำกัดการเดินทาง มาตรการเหล่านี้มีผลกระทบทั้งทางตรงและทางอ้อมต่อการจัดหาบริการดูแลเด็กในที่พักอา

Buenas prácticas en la prestación de servicios de cuidado residencial de la niñez y adolescencia en Guatemala (Resumen Breve)

Changing the Way We Care, 2021

OBJETIVOS DEL ESTUDIO: Identificar y documentar mejores prácticas en la prestación de servicios residenciales de cuidado, orientados a la transformación de servicios de cuidado de la niñez y adolescencia en Guatemala.

Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run Residential Care Institutions Case Study 2: Lu Lu's Children's Home

Eriks Development Partner, Kinnected, Better Care Network, World Childhood Foundation, and Griffith University Law Centre, 2021

This case study is drawn from the Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run Residential Care Institutions Study. It presents a summary of the account given by one participant.

Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run and Funded Residential Care Institutions: Briefing Note for Volunteers and Volunteer Sending Organisations

Better Care Network, Law Futures Centre - Griffith Law School, World Childhood Foundation, Eriks Development Partner, 2021

This briefing paper draws on data and findings from the report: Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run Residential Care Institutions: Insights and Implications for Advocacy and Awareness Raising.

Thai version

Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run and Funded Residential Care Institutions: Briefing Note for Donors and Supporters of Overseas RCIs

Better Care Network, Law Futures Centre - Griffith Law School, World Childhood Foundation, Eriks Development Partner, 2021

This study was a small-scale piece of qualitative research that involved 21 semistructured interviews with founders, funders, and directors of RCIs across 7 countries. It was designed to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the operations of residential care institutions including funding, staffing, volunteering, children’s care, education, family connection and reintegration.

Thai version

The Legal Framework of Orphanage Trafficking In Uganda: Enhancing Identification, Prosecution & Prevention

Rebecca Nhep, Kate van Doore, 2021

This report seeks to examine Uganda’s legal and policy framework to identify the relevant offences and mechanisms that could contribute towards the development of a prosecutorial strategy for orphanage trafficking in Uganda.

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Undernutrition Among Children Aged 6–59 Months in Ethiopian Orphanage Centres

Haimanot Teferi and Tesfalem Teshome - Pediatric Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 2021

This study aimed to assess magnitude and associated factors of undernutrition among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopian orphanage centres.