This study aimed to highlight the challenges faced by care leavers due to the absence of or inadequate aftercare support during the transition, which increases care leavers’ vulnerabilities to homelessness, unemployment, substance misuse and ruptured social relationships.

UNICEF Malaysia is seeking an international consultant to provide high-level technical support on alternative care, including strategy development, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, and technical assistance on de-institutionalisation and reforming of the alternative care system in Malaysia.

This article explores the complex landscape of alternative care for orphaned and vulnerable children in Afghanistan against the backdrop of prolonged conflict, political turmoil and socio-economic challenges.

This study explored the experiences of 14 adolescents living in a ci'aiyuan childcare institution in Xiangxi, China, finding that it sometimes fostered supportive relationships, enhanced perceived social support, and facilitated positive life changes. While these accounts challenge dominant negative views of institutional care, the study emphasizes the need to address ongoing complexities and challenges in such settings.

India Alternative Care Network (IACN) is calling for contributions to the 17th edition of IACN Quarterly. If you are a practitioner, academician, researcher, civil society organization, or a funder and wish to share learning, information, interventions, case studies, perspectives, and knowledge resources on children without parental care or at risk of separation, email your submission to iacnsecretariat@iacn.in on or before January 10, 2025.

Adoptees return to find a society that no longer recognises them, legally or socially

This study evaluates the shelter conditions and caregiver–orphan relationships in orphanages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings indicate that while most orphans are satisfied with basic shelter, their relational and developmental needs are often unmet, highlighting the need for well-trained residential care staff and the recommendation that institutional care be used only as a last resort to support successful reintegration into communities.

This study addresses a critical knowledge gap regarding alternative care in Thailand's Southern Border Provinces (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Satun, and Songkhla), where the population is predominantly Muslim with a strong ethnic Malay identity. The research investigates various forms of alternative care, including institutional care (Pondok and Hafiz institutions, government boarding schools, private orphanages) and family-based care, examining the quality of care, available social services, and cultural context.

Foreign money fuels fake orphanages in Nepal where children are taken from their parents and marketed as victims. But the fightback is on