This study examines Algeria’s use of kafala as a legally recognized alternative to adoption, highlighting its role in protecting the identity and citizenship rights of children of unknown parentage. While kafala aligns with Islamic principles and offers a protective framework, legal gaps, administrative barriers, and social stigma persist, underscoring the need for reforms to ensure children’s full legal identity and social inclusion.

Bullying in Pakistani orphanages is a serious but understudied issue that threatens children’s physical and psychological well-being. This study surveyed 600 adolescents aged 10–19 from orphanages in Gujrat, Gujranwala, and Lahore to examine the effects of bullying.

This study investigated how conditions in orphanages—such as limited resources, unstable relationships, and overcrowding—affect children’s personality development in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, using surveys of both caregivers and orphans. Findings showed that these factors negatively impact self-esteem and overall development, highlighting the need for greater government investment, adequate resources, and specialized caregiver training in child psychology and development.

This paper examines the benefits of foster care by exploring the experiences of foster care leavers and the perspectives of social workers in Tshwane District Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

"Ordinary People, Extraordinary Hearts" is an on-demand training program designed to support kinship carers in Australia in creating safe, nurturing, and healing environments for children and young people in their care.

This response report provides an overview of child protection concerns in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has deeply fractured the primary protective environment for children—the family. Mass displacement has separated millions of children from parents, siblings, and extended relatives, while indiscriminate attacks continue to kill and injure children at alarming rates.

This assessment examined how the child protection system supports children and families in vulnerable situations, with a particular focus on supporting the significant number of refugee children from Ukraine who have come to the Czech Republic since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

This case study showcases Kar Geno’s transition from institutional care to community-based support for children with disabilities in Siaya County, Kenya, guided by CTWWC and Catholic Relief Services. Through family reintegration, disability-inclusive services, and strong collaboration with government and civil society, Kar Geno has become a model for sustainable care reform, reintegrating nearly all resident children while continuing to provide accessible medical and psychosocial support through a community drop-in center.

This case study, developed by an external evaluation team as part of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative’s five-year evaluation, examines efforts in Kenya to promote and formalize Kafaalah as a recognized alternative family care option.

This case study, part of the five-year evaluation of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative, highlights Moldova’s Social Service Workforce Strengthening Working Group (WG), launched in 2022 by CTWWC and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

This case study, part of the five-year evaluation of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative, examines efforts in Guatemala to strengthen child and family protection through local government engagement.

This case study was developed by an external evaluation team as part of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative’s five-year evaluation.

The Final Report: Changing the Way We Care; Year 5 Evaluation highlights the Changing The Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative’s substantial contributions to advancing care reform globally and in demonstration countries—Guatemala, Kenya, and Moldova—through strengthened policies, systems, and stakeholder collaboration.

This study examined the long-term use of the Standard Triple P parenting program in Portugal’s child protection system, five years after 16 practitioners were accredited. Using a SWOT analysis and the Integrated Sustainability Framework, the study identified key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats affecting program sustainability, highlighting the need for deliberate planning to ensure evidence-based parenting programs are maintained over time and effectively reach families in need.

This study explored wellbeing among Swedish adolescents with and without out-of-home care experience, using cluster analysis of 10 wellbeing indicators. It found two distinct groups—one with higher wellbeing and one with lower wellbeing—with girls, unemployed youth, and those with care experience more likely to fall into the reduced wellbeing cluster.

This study found that parental poverty is a key factor pushing children in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria into street life, where deprivation drives them to engage in delinquent activities such as theft, drug peddling, and begging. The findings highlight urgent gaps in child welfare and social protection, calling for targeted interventions to address poverty, improve access to education and healthcare, and strengthen support systems.

This study assessed the situation of street children in Lubumbashi, DRC through a survey of 250 children across the city’s seven municipalities in November 2021. he findings highlight the urgent need for stronger state involvement, organizational support, and parental responsibility to address and reduce the phenomenon of street children.

This article examines how foster parents in Sweden navigate and reproduce public suspicions about financial compensation, drawing on texts and interviews from a three-year research project. While payments are essential for recruitment amid a shortage of foster families, foster parents face sensitivity, suspicion, and blame, leading them to develop strategies to deflect questions and avoid stigma.

This article analyzes data from a qualitative study that aims to investigate the well-being and vulnerability of Swiss children and adolescents in residential care. The empirical findings focus on the importance of digital media for children’s and adolescents’ well-being from their perspectives.

This article traces the evolution of Cambodia’s system for caring for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), shaped by political stabilization, emerging child protection concerns, international advocacy, and gradual state engagement. While Cambodia now has a solid policy framework, weak government prioritization, poor interagency coordination, and limited local capacity hinder implementation, leaving proponents to push for broader political commitment, balanced international support, and stronger responses to root causes such as poverty and migration.

Using nationwide register data from Finland (1980–2020), this study shows that the lifetime risk of children entering out-of-home care more than doubled, with a notable rise in residential care placements. At the same time, the average duration of care shortened, and the likelihood of children returning home before age 18 increased significantly.

Among Syrian migrants who have settled in Türkiye through mass migration, informal kinship care remains insufficiently clear due to gaps in registration and regulatory frameworks stemming from religious and cultural factors. This study expands the literature on informal kinship care among migrant families.

This study analyzes how Omani law protects vulnerable children without family care through foster arrangements, comparing it with practices in Morocco, the UAE, and the principles of Islamic Sharia law. While Oman’s legal framework provides a foundation for care, the research highlights weaknesses in implementation and oversight, recommending stronger monitoring, greater community involvement, and closer alignment with both regional best practices and Sharia objectives.

This study examines the transition experiences of 25 care leavers in Vietnam through semi-structured qualitative interviews. While many showed resilience and made progress, they also faced significant challenges related to housing, work, education, social relationships, and stigma, highlighting the crucial role of external support in sustaining their agency.

Strengthening Families in India: Framework & Guidance, jointly developed by India Alternative Care Network (IACN) and Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC), aims to consolidate existing knowledge, interventions, and promising practices led by government bodies and civil society organizations across India.