No Child Left Behind: No Less than 120,000 Children in Institutional Care in Thailand

Mahidol University, Alternative Care Thailand

This new study reveals that over 120,000 children in Thailand are living in institutional settings, mostly due to poverty and limited access to education. 90% have at least one living parent. Although institutional care may be appropriate in emergencies, it is often overly misused and can affect children’s emotional, cognitive and mental development.  More than 50% of private “orphanages” are unregistered and unregulated.

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On the Challenge of Historicizing Violence: Conflicts in State Redress for Historical Abuse of Children in Out-of-home Care

Johanna Sköld

This essay examines how child abuse and violence that occurred in the past have been conceptualised in one current redress process in an established democracy – the Swedish redress initiatives for historical abuse of children in out-of-home care.

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Preserving the World for Future Generations: Children and Young People’s Perspectives on How to Tackle Climate Change

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)

This literature review captures the perceptions and priorities of children and young people globally on climate change and its impact on their physical and mental health. The report summarises the voices and perspectives of almost 100,000 CYP from across the world.

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‘We Need to Tackle Their Well Being First’: Understanding and Supporting Care-Experienced Girls in the Youth Justice System

Jo Staines, Claire Fitzpatrick, Julie Shaw, Katie Hunter

This article presents novel findings from interviews with 17 girls and young women and eight Youth Offending Team (YOT) staff, highlighting how being in care in the U.S. can affect offending behaviour and how YOTs may provide support to care-experienced girls who have been inadequately supported elsewhere.

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Integrating Child Welfare and Medicaid Data to Identify and Predict Superutilization of Services for Youth in Foster Care

Elizabeth Weigensberg

This chapter summarizes results of a study of high service use, or “superutilization,” among children in foster care in the U.S. The study linked administrative data from child welfare, Medicaid, and other services for two sites.

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Strengthening inclusive social protection systems for displaced children and their families

Social Work's Colonial Past With Indigenous Children and Communities in Australia and Canada: A Cross-National Comparison

Nilan Yu, Marina Morgenshtern, Jeanette Schmid

This article offers a cross-national comparison of social work in two countries, Australia and Canada, about the care of Indigenous children within the context of colonization and the evolving profession.

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Tracing the Evolution of Alternative Care for Children in India in the Last Decade and the Way Forward

Maninder Kaur, Nilima Mehta, Subhadeep Adhikary, Anamika Viswanath

This paper intends to capture the landscape of alternative care and its evolution in India, drawing from the review of the legal and policy framework, existing literature, and detailed discussions with Civil Society Organisations(CSOs) and State functionaries.

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A Portrait of the Rights of Children With Disabilities in Nigeria: A Policy Review

Rose Uzoma Elekanachi, Keiko Shikako, Laurie Snider, Noemi Dahan-Oliel

This study examined the extent to which Nigeria’s current disability and childhood policies have integrated the CRC and the CRPD frameworks. Using a structured search of databases and Nigerian federal and state government websites, we conducted a policy review to identify their disability and child-related disability policies.

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CRC/C/GC/26: Observación General N.º 26 en los derechos del niño y el medio ambiente, con especial atención al cambio climático

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Los daños medioambientales son una amenaza importante para los derechos de la infancia en todo el mundo. Los niños y las niñas exigen que se tomen medidas inmediatas y que se protejan sus derechos.

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CRC/C/GC/26: Observation Générale n° 26 sur les droits de l'enfant et l'environnement avec un accent particulier sur le changement climatique

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Cette Observation générale explique pourquoi il est urgent d'agir en faveur de l'environnement et du climat et ce que les gouvernements doivent faire pour protéger tous les droits des enfants. Elle précise également que les gouvernements doivent protéger les droits des enfants d'aujourd'hui et ceux des générations futures.

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CRC/C/GC/26: General Comment No. 26 (2023) on Children’s Rights and the Environment With a Special Focus on Climate Change

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

In this general comment, the Committee emphasizes the urgent need to address the adverse effects of environmental degradation, with a special focus on climate change, on the enjoyment of children’s rights, and clarifies the obligations of States to address environmental harm and climate change.

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2023 Report to the Human Rights Council on Child Rights & Inclusive Social Protection (Child-friendly version)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The OHCHR submitted the first-ever child-friendly report, conducted with over 600+ child participants worldwide. The premise of this report is based on children's right to social support. Most children cannot access social aid and protection and, therefore, cannot access their other rights.

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Attachment Disorder Symptoms in Foster Children: Development and Associations With Attachment Security

Josephine D. Kliewer‑Neumann, Janin Zimmermann, Ina Bovenschen, Sandra Gabler, Katrin Lang, Gottfried Spangler, Katja Nowacki

This longitudinal study aims at investigating the attachment disorder symptoms during the first year of placement in foster care. The participants
were recruited through German social services departments around Dortmund, the Ruhr valley, and the Metropolitan region of Nuremberg.

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The Right to Leave: Dissolution of Child, Early, and Forced Marriages and Unions

Chelsea L. Ricker, Seth Earn, Madhumita Das, Margaret E. Greene

This paper explores why the right to leave marriage matters, describes the obstacles to girls’ access to divorce and to protections after divorce or separation, and links these to the factors that drive child, early, and forced marriages and unions. The authors reviewed reports and evidence from countries in all regions of the world by drawing on a previous systematic scoping review and related research done by the authors.

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Responding to Children's Ambiguous Loss in Out-of-Home Care: The HEAR Practice Model

Kenny Kor, Jodie Park, Belinda Fabrianesi

Drawing on the findings of a qualitative study undertaken in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this article applies the concept of ambiguous loss to outline the ways in which Out of Home Care practitioners can more adequately respond to children's experience of grief and loss.

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The View of Minority Youth on Cultural Continuity When Developing Their Identity in Majority Foster Homes

Tina Hansen

In this article, the focus is on youth with minority backgrounds living in majority foster homes and their views on cultural continuity. What is important for these young people when developing their identity in foster homes? The study is based on qualitative interviews with nine adolescents from minority
backgrounds who live in majority foster homes, which are homes in which one or both foster parents have ethnic Norwegian backgrounds. The analysis was conducted using a hermeneutic phenomenology methodology and shows that youth do not necessarily want cultural continuity in the sense of living in a culturally “matched” foster home.

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Developing Welfare Technology to Increase Children’s Participation in Child Welfare Assessments: An Empirical Case in Sweden // Att utveckla välfärdsteknologi som kan stimulera barns delaktighet i barnutredningar: professionsnära forskning från sverige

Gunnel Östlund, Philip Rautell Lindstedt, Baran Cürüklü, Helena Blomberg

The purpose of the article is to describe and problematise the practice initiated idea of developing a digital tool for children in child welfare investigations and whether and how this welfare technology is useful for social workers. The results include interview data and descriptions of the research process.

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“Those Bridges That Help You Get There”: How Natural Mentors Improve Social Support and Social Capital of Unaccompanied Immigrant Youths Leaving Residential Care

Xavier Alarcón, Barbara Mirković

This qualitative study explores the prevalence and role of natural mentors in the lives of unaccompanied immigrant youth residing in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The authors' findings suggest that natural mentors provide various types of social support and social capital, which fulfil the emotional or educational needs of young people.