This technical brief examines how public health emergencies in Eastern and Southern Africa—such as polio, cholera, Ebola, Marburg, and mpox—disrupt protective environments and increase risks of violence, exploitation, and neglect for children, including those without parental care. Drawing on lessons from multiple countries, it highlights scalable approaches to embed child protection in health responses and calls for coordinated frameworks that ensure care continuity and resilience during future crises.

This chapter in the book, Social Work Reflections, explores social work’s role in supporting care-experienced people and their families. It examines how social workers can promote meaningful participation and engagement across the life course for people with care experience.

This study explores the social, economic, and familial factors contributing to the rise of street children in Pul-e-Khumri, Afghanistan, where poverty, unemployment, and family breakdown have deepened the crisis. By highlighting the severe individual and societal impacts, it calls for targeted policies—such as poverty reduction, job creation, and access to education—to address the root causes and protect vulnerable children.

This paper examines the legal framework governing adoption in Pakistan, highlighting how Islamic principles and the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 shape the balance between child welfare and parental rights. Through a comparative analysis with international standards, it identifies gaps in the current system and proposes reforms to better protect children’s best interests while respecting cultural and religious values.

This article provides a critical examination of the Child's Rights Act in Nigeria, with a focus on strengthening foster care through the codification of the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Alternative Care. It analyzes the existing legal framework governing foster care in Nigeria, identifying gaps and limitations that hinder the effective protection and care of children living in foster care arrangements.

A decade after the launch of WHO’s INSPIRE Framework, this systematic review updates the global evidence on what works to end violence against children. Analyzing 216 systematic reviews, it identifies the most effective interventions—including parenting programs, safe school environments, healthy relationship education, cash-plus life-skills training, and cognitive behavioural therapy—and underscores the urgent need to scale up these proven approaches worldwide.

This study explores how stigma management communication can reduce the stigmatization of adoptive parents in Kiambu County, Kenya, where cultural beliefs often privilege biological lineage over adoption. Findings reveal that adoptive parents use strategies such as concealment, disclosure, reframing, and advocacy to challenge stigma and gradually normalize adoption, highlighting the vital role of communication in transforming societal attitudes and promoting acceptance.

On November 12, the Transforming Children's Care Collaborative hosted a webinar to explore insights from two Australian initiatives—

This review compares child protection systems in Indonesia and Ethiopia using UNICEF’s Child Protection System Strengthening framework. Both countries have established solid legal frameworks and coordination mechanisms, but progress toward system maturity remains slow due to gaps in enforcement, accountability, and support services, with Indonesia showing stronger development in workforce and data systems.

This review examined 39 studies on parenting interventions for Southeast Asian families in low- and middle-income countries and diaspora communities, identifying 31 distinct programs that generally improved parenting practices and child behavior. Findings support the effectiveness of these interventions while emphasizing the need for more rigorous research, clearer documentation of adaptations, and stronger evaluation methods to maximize public health impact.

The Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care project is a two-year project implemented and managed by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance with technical support from consultants from Child Frontiers and supported by a grant from the Martin James Foundation.

This report by Child’s i Foundation, supported by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance and the Martin James Foundation, presents findings from consultations with 133 care-experienced children, young adults, and caregivers in Uganda to understand their needs and expectations of social workers. The insights inform new training tools and advocacy efforts to strengthen social work practices, policies, and guidance to better support vulnerable families and care-experienced individuals.

This webinar showcased the learning from Strengthening the Social Service Workforce for Family-Based Care, a two-year project implemented by the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, with technical support from Child Frontiers, under a grant from the Martin James Foundation.

This study examines challenges that hinder social workers in South Africa from providing effective family reunification services, resulting in children staying in alternative care longer than necessary. Findings from a mixed-methods study suggest that providing resources, reducing caseloads, supervising and training social workers, and adhering to reunification principles are key measures to ensure holistic and timely family reunification.

This study examines how policy developments and the introduction of the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act, Chapter 602, have shaped the alternative care system and impacted the welfare and rights of children and families in Malta. It analyzes legislative intent, stakeholder perspectives, and gaps in practice, highlighting challenges and proposing reforms to strengthen the law’s implementation and support ongoing alternative care improvements.

This study explores the experiences of nine young Thai adults who grew up in a Christian orphanage supported by foreign volunteer tourists, highlighting the impact of these visits on the children. Findings reveal that while orphanages often used children to attract financial support, most volunteers provided fleeting attention, leaving children disappointed and vulnerable, emphasizing the need for orphanage models that prioritize the children’s needs over tourist interests.

This study examined the link between child neglect and family protective factors among 936 parents in Hatay, Türkiye, a region marked by migration, cultural diversity, and economic hardship. Results showed that stronger family protective factors were associated with less neglectful behavior, emphasizing the need for family-centered prevention efforts in disadvantaged, multicultural contexts.

This study compares child custody and guardianship norms in classical Islamic jurisprudence and modern codifications, focusing on Indonesia’s Compilation of Islamic Law and related laws in selected ASEAN and European countries. It finds that integrating the “best interests of the child” with Islamic legal reasoning through maqāṣid al-sharīʿah can promote child protection and gender equity, offering insights for legal reform in plural societies.

This study surveyed 340 adolescents in residential care facilities across Israel to assess their emotional well-being and sense of security during the Israel–Hamas war. Findings show high levels of sadness, stress, and anger among youth, but those who felt cared for and supported by staff reported greater security, underscoring the need to strengthen staff–adolescent relationships during crises.

This study explores the transition and livelihood strategies of adolescent girls in and out of institutional care in Harare, Zimbabwe, comparing 16 girls still in care with 16 who had exited. Findings reveal that girls leaving care rely on diverse social networks for survival but often struggle to sustain themselves, highlighting the need for transition programs that reduce institutional dependency, prevent early marriage, and promote economic inclusion.

This brief analyses the state of alternative care for children in Chile, highlighting key statistics, sectoral findings and areas for policy improvement. It is part of a broader analysis of gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) in Chile. The analysis draws on existing literature, government reports and key informant interviews (KIIs) with stakeholders working in this area.

This report assesses Scotland’s efforts to fulfil The Promise—a national commitment made in 2020 to overhaul the country’s care system so children and young people “grow up loved, safe and respected.” It identifies significant persistent challenges in three key areas: governance and accountability, data and measurement, and resources and investment.

In this webinar, part of the University of Kent Centre for Child Protection’s ‘Critical Conversations in Child Protection’ series, Rebecca Smith and Geoffrey Oyat from Save the Children International, discussed the evolution of programs supporting family-based care and children without appropriate care, including unaccompanied and separated children, over the past thirty years.

This study examines strategies for reintegrating street children in Harare, Zimbabwe, into their families, highlighting the root causes of homelessness and the need for psychosocial support, counselling, family conferences, and community engagement. It emphasizes innovative, evidence-based approaches to ensure effective family reintegration and informs policymakers, social development officers, and researchers addressing child homelessness.

This study explores the experiences of young women leaving residential care in Catalonia, Spain, revealing that limited, inconsistent support—focused mainly on technical skills—neglects their emotional and social needs. It calls for a caring, individualized approach to guide their transition to adulthood and prevent further vulnerability and institutional abandonment.