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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Structural Neglect in Orphanages: Physical Growth, Cognition, and Daily Life of Young Institutionalized Children in India

Femmie Juffer, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care , 03 Aug 2017

This study observed the physical growth and cognitive development in institutionalized toddlers in India, finding profound developmental delays in the sample group.

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Family Environment in Institutions for Young Children in Russia: Mental Health and Development Versus Medical Care

Maria Solodunova, Oleg Palmov, Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care describes the history of child care institutions in the Russian Federation and the legislative changes implemented to improve the situation of children living in residential care settings.

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Poly-victimization and Mental Health Problems Among Adolescents in Residential Facilities in Spain

Anna Segura, Noemí Pereda, Georgina Guilera, and Soledad Álvarez-Lister - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This report analyzes the relationship between poly-victimization and the internalizing and externalizing symptoms amongst 12-17 year old youth living in residential care centers in Spain.

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Child Maltreatment in Residential Centers: Summing Up

Adrian V. Rus, Sheri R. Parris, Ecaterina Stativa, and Cosmin O. Popa - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This paper is the final chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, summarizing and analyzing the research presented on child maltreatment in institutions, its impact on children, and prevention and intervention strategies.

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Academic Achievement of Romanian Institutionalized Children: A Social–Ecological Approach

Adrian V. Rus et al. - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This study investigated the correlation between the self-reported academic achievement of Romanian institutionalized children living in long-term residential care and numerous variables related to their experiences in institutional care.

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Congregate Care Settings in the United States

Rebecca D. Webster, Jeremy Wente, Sheri R. Parris, and Adrian V. Rus - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter in Child Maltreatment in Residential Care provides a brief history of congregate care in the United States and the experiences of maltreatment of children and youth within congregate care settings as they shifted over time.

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Why Institutions Matter: Empirical Data from Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries Indicate the Critical Role of Institutions for Orphans

Christine L. Gray, Sumedha Ariely, Brian W. Pence, and Kathryn Whetten - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care discusses the findings from a multi-country study comparing the incidence of maltreatment in institution-based and family-based care and offers recommendations based on the findings.

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Child Maltreatment and Prevention Practices in Chinese Orphanages

Xiaoyuan Shang & Karen R. Fisher - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care describes the progression of changes in China's child care and protection policies to reduce the use of institutional care for children and increase efforts toward family strengthening and family-based models of alternative care.

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Young People’s Voice: The First Visiting Advocacy Project in Italian Residential Care for Children

Valentina Calcaterra & Maria Luisa Raineri - Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Milan, 01 Aug 2017

This article presents the research of the project "Giving Young People a Voice: Advocacy in Children’s Homes," which evaluated the implementation of a visiting advocacy project and services provided by an independent advocate working in children's homes in Italy.

Finding Common Ground with Orphanage Supporters

Philip Goldman, Maestral International - MacArthur Foundation , 27 Jul 2017

In this video, Philip Goldman, President of Maestral International, discusses how donors, faith communities, advocates and other committed actors can be brought together under the common belief that all children belong in families.

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