In Cambodia's booming orphanage industry, children have become money-making tourist attractions, and it is suspected that sexual abuse is common in residential centres where there are few checks to identify child abusers among foreign volunteers.

Published jointly with UNICEF, this new BCN Working Paper focuses on the role of gatekeeping in strengthening family-based care and reforming alternative care systems. This Working Paper reviews different approaches to gatekeeping in five countries--Brazil, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Moldova, and Rwanda--to consider what has and has not worked, to analyze lessons learned from practice, and to reflect on the implications for improving policy and programs in this area.

This thesis by Brian Babington, submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University, uses a discourse analysis methodology to shed light on deinstitutionalisation policymaking in Indonesia. In examining the factors that led Indonesia to adopt a policy to reduce reliance on the panti asuhan type of children's institution, the dissertation reveals that Indonesia appears to have adopted this policy change not primarily as a result of concern for children's rights, but rather because of political, economic, cultural, and religious factors. It also explores how the policy shift attempted to appease both pro-reform and pro-panti asuhan groups. 

This article discusses a new set of standards for orphanages that the Cambodian Ministry of Social Affairs plans to begin enforcing. The new standards (known as the sub-decree on the management of residential care centers) are part of an effort to move towards family- and community-based care rather than institutionalization.

This Study is funded by UNICEF and USAID and is conducted in partnership with the Better Care Network.

The Kingdom of Cambodia signed into law on 8 December 2015 the Sub-Decree on the Management of Residential Care.

Udayan Care is calling for the submission of abstracts for their upcoming conference “Improving Standards of Care for Alternative Child & Youth Care: Systems, Policies and Practices.” Submissions are due 1 December 2015.

This article explores how the demand for orphanage tourism, whether from volunteers or holidaymakers visiting or donating, can fuel child trafficking and abuse. 

This study from Singapore examined the association of two factors — children's strengths and placement type, with outcomes at two time-points during out-of-home care. 

The negative impact of childhood maltreatment, which can often extend well into adulthood, consistently appears to be ameliorated if victimized children possess several resiliencies or strengths.