The purpose of this paper is to provide background information and offer pragmatic steps in relation to priority no. 3 of the European Declaration on the Health of Children and Young People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families: “To transfer care from institutions to the community”. The paper was produced in preparation for the conference in Bucharest, Romania 26-27 November, 2010.

The aim of this guidance is to improve quality of life of looked-after children and young people in England, including their physical health, and social, educational and emotional wellbeing. It focuses on and encourages organisations, professionals and carers to work together to deliver high quality care, stable placements and nurturing relationships for looked-after children and young people.

The purpose of this paper is to give meaning and insight into some of the key drug and alcohol issues that affect children from the perspectives of the children themselves. Research shows that large numbers of children who are separated from their parents are particularly vulnerable to developing drug and alcohol problems. Special attention is paid throughout the report on children looked after by relatives, foster carers, and institutions.

In response to the increased social exclusion affecting youth leaving care, Amici de Bambini developed Matrix of Guidelines for Life after Institutional Care, which can be used to increase the likelihood of social inclusion for young people who have been released from the child protection system.

This book features individual empirical studies on the outcomes and progress made for children in foster care around the world.

This report by the UK-based independent think tank, Demos, considers what the UK care system would look like if it were reconfigured to avoid the delay, instability, and abrupt transitions many young people experience. It demonstrates how this type of system could also be less costly to the states in both the short and long term.

In 2009 Eurochild carried out a survey of the situation of children in alternative care in Europe through its member organisations. The survey was not intended as a scientifically rigorous research exercise but rather to identify what information is readily available and to note some common trends across Europe.

This scoping study assesses the nature and extent of the evidence base in relation to increasing the number of care leavers in ‘settled, safe accommodation’. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) carried out the study on behalf of the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People’s Services (C4EO), between November 2008 and February 2009.

Youth-friendly information booklet addressed to children and young people in alternative care.

Keys findings from the full investigation into state-run children's institutions in Ireland from the 1930s - 1990s