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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Country Care Review: Thailand

Better Care Network, 12 May 2016

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In Brief: Voluntourism

Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism - ECPAT, 11 May 2016

This brief from ECPAT's Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism defines the term "voluntourism" and its risks to children, with a focus on orphanage voluntourism.

Assessment of Adjustment Problems among Adolescents Residing in Orphanage

Thampi Anju, Sreejamol M G, Joy Febu Elizabeth – Indian Journal, 06 May 2016

This study was aimed to identify adjustment problems of adolescents residing in an orphanage in Kerala, India, as well as to find out the association between adjustment problems of adolescents residing at orphanage with their socio-demographic variables.

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Mapping Australia’s support for the institutionalisation of children overseas

Kathryn van Doore, Laura Healy and Megan Jones - ReThink Orphanages, 01 May 2016

This report “seeks to map Australia’s contribution to residential care institutions for children overseas across a number of sectors and identify opportunities for strategic engagement with various stakeholders in the Australian context.”

Zambia Department of Social Welfare: Services Provided

Republic of Zambia: Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health - Department of Social Welfare, 01 May 2016

This brochure outlines the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme, including services related to inspection of child-care facilities and adoption.

Report on National Assessment of Centres caring for Children with Disabilities in Rwanda

National Council of Persons with Disabilities, National Commission for Children, UNICEF, 01 May 2016

The purpose of this assessment was to review service delivery in centres for children with disabilities in Rwanda. This report establishes relevant baseline information on institutional capacity including services offered, staffing levels and other parameters regarding care of children with disabilities.

The Situation of 0-3 Years Old Temporarily Abandoned Children, in Romania, during 2003-2013 Causes, Consequences and Alternatives

Rebeca Scorcia Popescu, 01 May 2016

This study used a secondary analysis of data from 2003 to 2013 to better understand the situation of children temporarily abandoned in Romania. It looked at data for children aged 0-3 years who were abandoned in different hospital units or institutionalized in public orphanages or public and private foster care institutions.

Effect of yoga program on executive functions of adolescents dwelling in an orphan home: A randomized controlled study

Satya Prakash Purohit & Balaram Pradhan - Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 20 Apr 2016

This study implemented a 3-month yoga program with orphan adolescents in Bangalore, India and evaulated the impact of the program on adolescent executive functioning.

Adopted Youth in Residential Care: Prevalence Rate and Professional Training Needs

David Brodzinsky, John Santa & Susan Livingston Smith - Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 18 Apr 2016

In this study, clinical program directors from 59 residential treatment facilities in the US responded to an online survey addressing the representation of adopted youth currently being served by their organization, the extent to which adoption issues are incorporated into clinical intake and treatment processes, and the training needs of clinical staff related to adoption.

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Determinants and Consequences of Children Living Outside of Parental Care in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Views and Experiences of Adults and Young People in Family and Residential Care

Mónica Ruiz-Casares, Saithong Phommavong - Global Social Welfare, 16 Apr 2016

This study explores the determinants of child-parent separation and the consequences of existing alternative care arrangements from the perspectives of adults and young people in Laos.

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