In 2024, the 1st Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children (VAC) brought together 103 governments to make formal commitments to prevent and respond to VAC. This review analyses the pledges announced at the time of the conference, while acknowledging that some governments may have subsequently refined or expanded their commitments, as noted in the limitations.

In this reflective blog by UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, he marks the first anniversary of the Global Campaign on Children’s Care Reform, launched to promote global action towards ending institutional care and ensuring every child grows up in a safe, nurturing family.

This chapter in the The Routledge Handbook of Social Work and Migration focuses on social work with children and young people who have experienced forced migration and become separated from family members, known as unaccompanied minors. It explores the possibilities of rights-based practice with unaccompanied children and considers what might be needed to develop and sustain this.

The article explains that while Islamic law is often said to forbid adoption in the Western sense, where a child’s identity and lineage are legally replaced by those of adoptive parents, this misses the well-established Islamic alternative of kafa

This interactive graphic depicts the vital processes, mechanisms, and care options necessary for supporting children at risk of being or already separated from their parents. It illustrates how best practices work together to prioritize famil

Cross-border case management (CBCM) is a component of child protection case management that supports children on the move and their families who cross international borders, requiring identification and registration, safe cross-border information sharing, and coordinated action among authorities across jurisdictions. This programmatic guidance provides practitioners with recommendations to implement CBCM in line with international refugee protection standards and the best interests of the child, emphasizing engagement with national authorities, continuity of protection, durable solutions, and the upholding of children’s rights within broader child protection systems.

This scoping review synthesises evidence from 77 studies (2014–2024) on violence against children in foster, residential, and kinship care, finding neglect to be the most common form of maltreatment, alongside physical, emotional, sexual, and peer violence across settings. While evidence on effective interventions is limited, the review highlights key risk factors and consequences, underscores the protective role of supportive relationships and trauma-informed care, and calls for stronger family-based care, oversight, and child-centred practices to reduce harm and promote well-being.

This paper proposes an expanded conceptual and normative framework for child protection systems to promote coherence, inclusivity, and accountability in both development and humanitarian contexts. Drawing on global data, recent initiatives, and a dual-axis framework distinguishing norms of operation and intent, it offers a field-tested definition to guide national planning, partner alignment, and systems-focused reform that upholds every child’s right to protection.

This commentary critiques Western-led global orphan care interventions, arguing that donor-driven aid, institutionalization, and voluntourism often perpetuate trauma, family separation, and an “orphan economy” despite good intentions. Drawing on lived experience, research, and ethical reflection, it calls for trauma-informed, family-preserving, and culturally respectful approaches that prioritize children’s rights, dignity, and long-term wellbeing.

This paper presents a rights-based framework for assessing when care orders are justified in child protection, integrating human rights standards, statutory criteria, and international jurisprudence around the principles of necessity, proportionality, and the child’s best interests. It offers practical guidance to improve consistency and accountability in decision-making, supporting evidence-based reform while reducing arbitrary or disproportionate child removals and prioritizing family preservation where possible.