This report presents the main findings, conclusions, and recommendations of an evaluation of the child care and deinstitutionalisation reforms in seven countries in the Europe and Central Asia Region (Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Tajikistan). The report offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of child protection systems and the transition from institutional care to family- and community-based alternatives. It highlights key achievements, lessons learned, and best practices, while also addressing the areas where further improvements are needed to ensure that every child can grow up in a nurturing, safe, and supportive environment.

Panama, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Czech Republic among those newly committing to totally prohibit violence against under-18s.

This study examined case studies highlighting specific issues or exemplary practices in child protection in Kazakhstan, providing a thorough, multidimensional analysis of child rights and protection in the country. 

Каждый ребенок имеет право расти в способствующей развитию семейной среде.

This UNICEF policy brief finds that an estimated 203 children for every 100,000 children live in residential care across Central Asia – almost double the global average of 105 per 100,000. In this brief, UNICEF proposes seven policy recommendations to facilitate the closure of large-scale institutions and transition to family-based alternatives to institutional care in Central Asia.

The Criminal Code is being amended to include a new clause - Article 126-1, which introduces liability for family (domestic) violence against children.

This UNICEF paper summarises evidence on the current use and impact of boarding schools in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and draws on wider international evidence. It proposes a typology of boarding schools and considers the drivers for their use, as well as the concerns and challenges related to that use for vulnerable children.

This is a comment on the the report Pathways to Better Protection which gives promising indication that deinstitutionalisation policies are closing residential housing facilities and that increasingly, with the exception of children with disabilities, children are less likely to find themselves in residential care.

'Long road ahead before ending Europe and Central Asia’s long, painful legacy’ of institutionalisation of children, as new UNICEF report highlights rate of children living in residential care across region is double the global average