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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Child Abuse and Neglect in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya: A Challenge of Context

Paula Braitstein, Samuel Ayaya, David Ayuku, Allison DeLong, and Lukoye Atwoli - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This study investigated the incidence of maltreatment experienced by children living outside parental care, comparing the prevalence of abuse between children living with extended family, children living in institutional care, and children living or working on the street.

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Divergent Developmental Pathways of Children and Adolescents Reared in Long-Term Residential Protective Care in Turkey

Nese Erol, Zeynep Simsek, Abdullah Oskay, and Kerim Münir - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care provides a background on the development of the child welfare system in Turkey, focused on the transition from institutional care toward family-based care and higher standards for institutions.

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Research on Child Sexual Abuse in Institutions in German-Speaking Countries: A Summary

Nina Spröber-Kolb et al. - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This report summarizes the findings from various studies investigating child sexual abuse within institutional care throughout Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and offers suggestions for future research and intervention.

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Child Maltreatment in Residential Care: History, Research, and Current Practice

Adrian V. Rus, Sheri R. Parris, and Ecaterina Stativa - Springer, 03 Aug 2017

The 24 chapters of this book contain research examining the institutionalization of children, child abuse and neglect in residential care, and interventions preventing and responding to violence against children living in out-of-home care settings around the world.

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Psychopathology Following Severe Deprivation: History, Research, and Implications of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Kathryn L. Humphreys, Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson, and Charles H. Zeanah - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter from Child Maltreatment in Residential Care presents the key findings from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (2003), a longitudinal randomized control study which revealed the immense developmental impact of the severe deprivation experienced by children placed in institutional care shortly after birth.

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Interventions Designed for Children with Histories of Institutionalization and Placed in Foster or Adoptive Families

Maureen Riley-Behringer and Victor Groza - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This paper provides evidence-based guidance on the use of family interventions involving children with a history of institutionalization prior to their placement in family-based care through foster care, adoption, or reunification with their families.

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Punishment, Peer Exploitation, and Sexual Abuse in Long-Term Romanian Residential Centers: Findings from a Nationally Representative Sample of Institutionalized Children

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

This study investigated the prevalence of abuse experienced or witnessed by Romanian children living in long-term residential centers in 1999.

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Experiences and Outcomes of Adults Who Endured Maltreatment as Children in Care in Australia in the Twentieth Century

Elizabeth Fernandez & Jung-Sook Lee - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This study explored the experiences of maltreatment and outcomes of adult care-leavers in Australia who lived in out-of-home care as children.

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Interaction Competencies with Children (ICC): An Approach for Preventing Violence, Abuse, and Neglect in Institutional Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

Tobias Hecker, Getrude Mkinga, Joseph Ssenyonga, and Katharin Hermenau - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This chapter of Child Maltreatment in Residential Care describes Interaction Competencies with Children – for Caregivers (ICC-C), a preventative intervention approach to improve the quality of care and reduce the incidence of maltreatment within institutional care settings in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Experiences of Victimization by Peers and Staff in Residential Care for Children at Risk in Israel from an Ecological Perspective

Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz - Child Maltreatment in Residential Care, 03 Aug 2017

This study analyzed the experiences of victimization by peers and staff of adolescents living in Israeli residential care settings.

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