The Tiny Cave Website

Children's Rights Innovation Fund

The Tiny Cave and the Magnificent Creatures uses the Tiny Cave as a metaphor for the often-unintentional constraints that philanthropy and international development place on young people’s expansive imaginations. Through a puppet animation adapted from the storybook and brought together on the Tiny Cave website, Children's Rights Innovation Fund reflects how funding systems can narrow both young changemakers and those seeking to support them. 

Measuring child protection advocacy reach: Development of an Advocacy Reach Calculator

Claire Dunn, Saranga Jayarathne, Veronica Burbano

This paper introduces an Advocacy Reach Calculator developed by ChildFund International to estimate how many children and families benefit from child protection policy changes. It outlines the tool’s development and pilot testing in four countries, showing how it can support better monitoring, planning, and advocacy efforts.

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The Handbook of Social Protection: Evidence and New Directions for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Rema Hanna and Benjamin A. Olken

Social protection programs, such as cash transfers and pensions, have expanded widely in low- and middle-income countries and play a key role in reducing poverty and supporting vulnerable populations. This handbook reviews the growing body of research on these programs, summarizing what is known and highlighting important gaps for future study.

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child protective services in Saudi Arabia

Majid Aleissa, Norah Alhowaish and Norah Alhowaish

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected child protection services in Saudi Arabia, finding increased risks and severity of violence against children alongside challenges such as limited reporting improvements, weak coordination, and insufficient staff training and digital tools. It highlights the need for stronger emergency preparedness, better collaboration across sectors, and improved resources to ensure effective child protection during future crises.

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The support issues that young people face after leaving residential facilities for children with disabilities in Japan

Reiko Ohashi and Megumi Sakai

This study explores the challenges faced by young people with disabilities in Japan after leaving residential care, finding they often struggle with adapting to new environments, managing their health, and accessing consistent support. It highlights the need for more structured, long-term support systems to help them successfully transition to independent living.

Mapping the situation of unaccompanied and separated children in Greece: A scoping review

Martha Dansowaa, Julie Taylor, Marianne Wade, Dana Sammut

This review examines what happens to unaccompanied and separated children who go missing after arriving in Greece, a major entry point for asylum seekers, and finds that most likely continue their journeys irregularly or remain unofficially in the country. However, due to limited and mostly anecdotal evidence, it highlights a major gap in reliable data and calls for urgent research and policy action to better protect these children.

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Left Behind in Lockdown: A Scoping Review of COVID-19's Impact on the Lives of Transition-Age Foster Youth

Johanna K. P. Greeson, Sarah Wasch, John R. Gyourko

This review examines research on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected older youth with foster care experience in the United States, finding that most studies were descriptive and highlighted major disruptions in areas like housing, education, employment, mental health, and relationships. It shows that certain groups—such as youth of color, LGBTQ youth, and females—were especially impacted, and calls for stronger support systems and policies to better protect foster youth in future crises.

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Left Behind in Lockdown: A Scoping Review of COVID-19's Impact on the Lives of Transition-Age Foster Youth

Johanna K. P. Greeson, Sarah Wasch, and John R. Gyourko

This review examines research on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected older youth with foster care experience in the United States, finding that most studies were descriptive and highlighted major disruptions in areas like housing, education, employment, mental health, and relationships. It shows that certain groups—such as youth of color, LGBTQ youth, and females—were especially impacted, and calls for stronger support systems and policies to better protect foster youth in future crises.

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“They Call Me the Girl from Residential Care”: Risks and Stressors of Care Leavers in Arab Society in Israel

Samah Mahamid, Haneen Karram-Elias & Yafit Sulimani-Aidan

This study explores the challenges faced by at-risk Arab young adults in Israel as they transition out of care, highlighting how minority status and cultural context shape their experiences. Findings reveal cycles of family risk, identity struggles, and feelings of loss and exclusion, underscoring the need for culturally responsive, gender-sensitive, and inclusive support programs for care leavers.

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