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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Impact of COVID-19 on Privately Run Residential Care Institutions Case Study 1: Futures Children's Centre

Eriks Development Partner, Kinnected, Better Care Network, World Childhood Foundation, Griffith University, 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: Summary Briefing Paper

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

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.

Child care institutions in India: Investigating issues and challenges in children’s rehabilitation and social integration

Evergreat Wanglar - Children and Youth Services Review, 31 Dec 2020

This study aimed to unravel the different issues and challenges that hinder the effective rehabilitation of children in child care institutions in India.

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What does research tell us about young people’s participation in decision making in residential care? A systematic scoping review

Lynne McPherson, Meaghan Vosz, Kathomi Gatwiri, Natalie Parmenter, Noel Macnamara, Janise Mitchell, Joe Tucci - Children and Youth Services Review, 29 Dec 2020

This article reports on a systematic scoping review which investigated research publications on participation in making life-impacting decisions by young people.

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Community-based participatory research with at-risk youth: lessons learned from a Photovoice project in Taiwan

Victor Hsiao, Sunya Chen, Mellissa Withers - Journal of Health and Caring Sciences, 18 Dec 2020

Thirteen youth from a group home in Taiwan for teenage boys in the foster care and juvenile justice systems participated in this yearlong study which utilized a strengths-based approach to examine resiliency, their needs, and sources of support. This article describes nine key lessons learned to keep at-risk youth at the center of future similar research studies through protecting, representing, and empowering them.