The Costing Model and Resource Requirements report presents a comprehensive financial analysis of Ukraine’s National Strategy to ensure every child grows up in a family environment. It estimates the resources required to implement the Strategy and its multi-year implementation plan across national, oblast and hromada levels, with a focus on strengthening families, expanding family-based care, reintegrating displaced children and transforming institutional care.

The report analyses existing parenting support policies, programmes and service models relevant to child protection and care reform. Drawing on international evidence and national sources, the review highlights the role of parenting support in preventing family separation, strengthening caregiving capacities and improving child well-being across the life course.

This video highlights the rise of a locally led movement in Ethiopia, where Christian leaders and organizations are transforming child welfare practices following the end of intercountry adoption. It showcases the impact of the CAFO-supported DEBO Alliance as churches and advocates embrace domestic adoption and best practices to bring hope and lasting care to vulnerable children and families.

This publication examines the role of an integrated social protection system in strengthening family resilience, preventing family separation and supporting child protection and care reform. The brief outlines how coordinated cash transfers, social services and case management can more effectively address multidimensional vulnerabilities faced by children and families, particularly in the context of conflict, displacement and decentralization.

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 study examines the views of Australian foster and kinship carers on the importance of cultural connection for children from culturally diverse backgrounds, finding broad agreement that culture is central to identity and wellbeing. The findings highlight challenges in delivering cultural care and underscore the need for training in cultural humility, improved cultural data collection, and collaborative cultural care planning that includes children and birth parents as key decision-makers.

This study explores the lived experiences of adolescents in grandparent kinship care in South Korea, drawing on interviews with 22 grandparent–adolescent pairs to examine how young people respond to adversity, build support, and exercise agency. Despite widespread experiences of parental abandonment and stigma, adolescents demonstrated resilience and intentionality, highlighting the need for stronger, coordinated services to support grandparent kinship families within Korea’s underdeveloped foster care system.

A strong social service workforce (SSW) is the backbone of effective child protection systems. Across Eastern and Southern Africa, social service workers play a critical role in preventing and responding to violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children. Yet, the workforce remains underfunded and understaffed, limiting its ability to deliver essential services. To address this gap, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) has developed this Synthesis Report , providing a detailed guide to developing an investment case, drawing on lessons from Kenya and Zambia.

A strong social service workforce (SSW) is the backbone of effective child protection systems. Across Eastern and Southern Africa, social service workers play a critical role in preventing and responding to violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children. Yet, the workforce remains underfunded and understaffed, limiting its ability to deliver essential services. To address this gap, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) has developed this Policy Brief summarizing the rationale and approach for building an investment case for strengthening the SSW.