Residential care is care provided in any non-family based group setting. It includes care organised around the individual child in small group settings (small group homes), which is non-institutional in nature, and institutional care provided in settings such as orphanages, children’s homes, children’s villages, shelters, transit centres and dormitories. 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