This study examines the long-term effects of early institutional care in Zurich, finding that infants exposed to severe psychosocial deprivation faced significantly higher mortality risk and lost an estimated 12 years of life compared to peers raised in the community. It highlights that lack of nurturing interaction in early childhood has lasting consequences into adulthood, underscoring the critical importance of responsive care for child health and survival.

This article explores how out-of-home care systems across five countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States) approach cultural care for children, examining the organisational structures, leadership, and practices that support or hinder children’s connections to their culture, family, and community. Drawing on interviews with service providers, it highlights key drivers of effective practice and offers practical tools and insights for strengthening culturally responsive, system-wide approaches to safeguarding children’s identity and wellbeing.

This paper aims to navigate the complex terrain of refugee law with a child-centric approach, evaluating whether the UK adequately safeguards the rights of unaccompanied children. It concludes that whilst the UK’s domestic legislation is in compliance with its international obligations, its asylum procedures ultimately fail to adequately safeguard unaccompanied children and a framework recognising vulnerability (as opposed to chronological age) as the appropriate threshold and determinative factor for safeguarding would better support the rights of unaccompanied minors and age-disputed individuals.

This article argues that the UK child social care system is in crisis, with rising numbers of children in care and persistently poor outcomes despite substantial spending. It identifies austerity, reduced preventative services, and factors such as domestic violence, parental mental health, and substance misuse as key drivers, and calls for systemic reform focused on reducing child poverty, investing in early intervention, and adopting trauma-informed approaches.

This article reports that the UK’s suspension of a key refugee family reunion pathway has left hundreds of children stranded and separated from their families, many in unsafe or unstable conditions.

This study highlights that children in Kalaallit Nunaat are placed in out-of-home care at disproportionately high rates, creating significant strain on families and the child welfare system. Drawing on community perspectives, it identifies key research priorities focused on how colonization and structural inequalities shape family life, providing a framework to inform efforts to safely reduce reliance on out-of-home care.

The article reports on a landmark case in which a Greenlandic mother, Keira Alexandra Kronvold, successfully challenged Danish authorities for unlawfully removing her newborn shortly after birth based on contested parenting assessments.

This UNICEF Montenegro article reports that the company Piece of Cake has donated $300,000 to support the establishment of Montenegro’s first foster care center, marking a significant step toward strengthening family-based care services in the country.

This report warns reports that modern slavery in the UK has reached its highest recorded levels and is likely to continue rising, according to the country’s independent anti-slavery commissioner. The article highlights that referrals of potential victims have nearly doubled in recent years—surpassing 23,000 cases in 2025—driven not only by better detection but by growing global and domestic vulnerabilities such as poverty, conflict, and unsafe migration pathways.

This Guardian article reports that a United Nations human rights expert has warned that Denmark’s removal of a newborn child from a Greenlandic mother following controversial parenting competency assessments may constitute ethnic discrimination.