This webinar, held March 27, 2026 by the Care Leaders Council, provided an international exchange among people with lived experience in care, aimed at analyzing regulatory progress, best practices, and challenges in the transition to ind

Thailand has a long history of social work and a legal framework recognizing the profession. However, social needs are growing in scale and complexity, while the social service workforce remains under resourced, unevenly distributed, and insufficiently supported. The assessment examined professional social workers, other social service professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers across government and non government sectors at national and sub national levels.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal nutrition program in the United States, serving about 42 million people and helping reduce food insecurity, with roughly 40% of recipients being youth. This policy brief focuses on how recent federal changes put youth aging out of foster care at risk of losing SNAP benefits and recommends reinstating eligibility waivers, strengthening state transition services, and protecting data on food insecurity for this vulnerable population.

This report examines the transition of young people aging out of institutional care into independent adulthood. It highlights how many care leavers face significant challenges after turning 18, including limited access to education, employment, and stable housing, as well as a lack of life skills and supportive social networks.

My Life Storybook is a child-centered tool developed by children in collaboration with Child in Family Focus - Kenya (CFFK), the Kenya Ministry or Labour and Social Protection, and other relevant stakeholders to help children in care  document their history, reflect on their experiences, and strengthen their sense of identity and belonging. The tool is currently being used in CFFK's programs to support reintegration and family strengthening.

This study explores why street children resist removal interventions and often return to the streets in Zambia, drawing on perspectives from children, caregivers, and guardians. It finds that factors such as poverty, family conflict, abuse, and inadequate conditions in care facilities drive both initial street involvement and reintegration failure, highlighting the need for more comprehensive and coordinated interventions.

This article examines the challenges of family reunification for children in alternative care in South Africa, identifying factors related to parents and children that can make reunification unfeasible. It argues that while reunification is a key right, it must be balanced with child safety, emphasizing the need for stronger permanency planning for children who cannot return home.

This article examines how child protection systems continue to reflect colonial power by disproportionately intervening in Indigenous families and undermining cultural practices and kinship systems. It highlights growing Indigenous-led movements to reclaim authority over child welfare, emphasizing self-determination and the rebuilding of care systems grounded in Indigenous laws, values, and relationships.

This study explores how minors in out-of-family care in Belgium experience placements and what improvements they recommend, based on interviews with youth in residential facilities. It finds that placements are often confusing and disruptive, and emphasizes the need for more child-centered, developmentally appropriate care that addresses both emotional needs and everyday living conditions.

This article explores the parenting support needs of young mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand who grew up in out-of-home care, highlighting how their childhood experiences shape their access to and perceptions of support. It finds that these mothers face significant barriers and fears in engaging with services, underscoring the need for specialized, independent parenting support as part of after-care.

This paper reflects on an author’s return to former orphanage sites in Australia—now repurposed as commercial properties—where personal memories of abuse and neglect resurface. It explores how survivor testimony and memory activism can challenge the erasure of these histories, highlighting tensions between commercial interests and efforts to memorialize sites of past harm.

This study examines the physical and psychological well-being of children and adolescents in residential care facilities in Mexico, addressing a major gap in systematic data. It finds that well-being levels are often below desired standards and that institutional responses only partially meet child protection principles, highlighting the need for improved practices, training, and coordination.

This paper explores the experiences of informal caregivers in South Africa supporting youth with intellectual disabilities and/or autism as they transition from residential care to adulthood. It finds that caregivers play a vital role but face significant challenges, including inadequate transition planning, limited aftercare services, and insufficient formal support.

This briefing is intended to prompt discussion about how the use of artificial intelligence could improve the experiences of families and professionals in the family justice system in the UK. It also outlines the challenges and risks involved, and the governance required for safe usage.

This article examines how child protection policy is implemented at the local level in North Central Timor, highlighting existing legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, and budget allocations. It finds that while regional governments have established regulations and programs, formal child protection policies are lacking at the village level despite some related activities supporting children’s rights.

This article presents a meta-analysis of 41 studies examining the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of emotional abuse and neglect among children in Arab countries, finding that nearly half of children are affected. It highlights key drivers such as parental divorce and low education, as well as serious outcomes like behavioral disorders and suicidal ideation, and calls for culturally tailored prevention and stronger child protection systems.

This systematic review synthesised qualitative research on care-experienced children’s pathways into and through the criminal justice system, highlighting how factors such as trauma, a search for belonging, systemic challenges, and intersectionality shape their experiences. The findings underscore the need for trauma-informed approaches, stronger support systems, and reduced unnecessary criminal justice involvement to better respond to the needs of care-experienced children.

This study of adolescents in residential care in Portugal found that perceptions of psychological adjustment differ significantly between adolescents and their caregivers, with adolescents consistently reporting more emotional, behavioral, and peer-related difficulties. The findings highlight low agreement between informants and emphasize the need for multi-informant, developmentally sensitive assessments, greater inclusion of adolescents’ perspectives, and improved caregiver training and tailored mental health support.

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) are government-funded savings or investment accounts established at birth to support children’s future education, with evidence showing both economic benefits for families and positive psychological effects for children. This article focuses on how to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, CDA policies must ensure universal access, progressive public funding based on need, and early account establishment, including for children in institutional care to prevent discrimination.

Institutional mechanisms established under India’s Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme play a central role in safeguarding children’s rights through case management, rehabilitation, and coordination. This systematic review of literature (2010–2025) finds that while these systems are essential, they face persistent challenges such as limited resources, inadequate training, and weak monitoring, with improved outcomes linked to community-based and rights-based approaches.

Since taking office in 2025, the second Donald Trump administration significantly expanded immigration enforcement while weakening safeguards for due process, family unity, and parental rights, resulting in record detention levels and widespread impacts on immigrant families. This research by Women’s Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights found that many deported parents were denied the opportunity to make arrangements for their children, leading to increased family separations that may become long-term or permanent.

Parents living through conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crises faced extraordinary pressures that affected both their own wellbeing and their children’s development. This Global Parenting Initiative webinar brought together global and field-level perspectives to explore how parenting and psychosocial support could be better aligned within humanitarian systems.

Această evaluare națională examinează contextul, calitatea și eficacitatea programelor de educație parentală pentru îngrijitori din Republica Moldova dintr-o perspectivă transformatoare de gen, cu un accent deosebit pe contribuția lor la prevenirea violenței, la promovarea egalității de gen și la

In 2025, UNICEF and UNFPA conducted a national review of parenting programmes in Moldova to assess their role in addressing violence against children and women and to inform more effective, gender-transformative interventions. The study provides evidence to support the development of a Theory of Change and evaluation framework for strengthening prevention efforts.

Despite Kenya’s Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children program, coverage and benefit levels remain insufficient in arid regions like Samburu Central, where many eligible households are not reached and transfers meet less than half of basic needs. Using national survey and administrative data, the study finds that higher transfer amounts, longer participation, community-based targeting, and especially improved program accessibility significantly enhance household livelihood outcomes, highlighting the need to expand access, increase payments, and strengthen targeting.