This is a series of written interviews conducted with care-experienced persons from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka who have had experience with alternative care. These interviews were published in the September 2023 issue of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond journal.

This article explores the steady move towards family-based care in Sri Lanka over the last decade. The country has given priority to family strengthening and strong gatekeeping mechanisms to prevent children from being unnecessarily separated from their families.

In this editorial, Ian Forber-Pratt, editor of this tenth anniversary edition of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, gives an of alternative care in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. 

Sri Lanka government officials visited the state of Rajasthan in India to view family-based care models that will inform Sri Lanka’s child protection system as the country transitions into an innovative approach that supports children in family settings. CERI, in partnership with UNICEF Sri Lanka and UNICEF India, hosted the delegation’s visit to family-strengthening, foster care, and group foster care models implemented by Foster Care Society and the Department of Child Rights in Rajasthan.

This report provides a summary of the learning exchange that took place around family-based care (family strengthening, foster care, specialized group care) in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India on August 24 - 28, 2022.

There is evidence that children in residential care institutions (RCI) have higher rates of psychological problems, suicide and criminal behaviour. There is only one study in Sri Lanka which has examined the psychological well-being of children in RCIs. This study aims to provide further evidence to formulate policies related to the mental health of institutionalized children in the local context.

This webinar co-hosted with the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative is an opportunity to lift up how the Catholic Church is advancing safe and nurturing family care for children around the world.

In this How We Care series, Family for Every Child has presented the programming of 3 of its CSO members who have been working on the ground on preventing domestic violence affecting children during COVID-19.

This article identifies risks and vulnerabilities that child monks can face, including sexual abuse. It reflects on how aspects of entrusting young children to live as child monks do not necessarily fit with principles articulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNGA, 1989) and the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (UNGA, 2009).

The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office in collaboration with UNICEF organized a 3-day virtual meeting from 27 to 29 April, 2021.