An analysis of 14 national foster care policies across six European countries found that while most acknowledge children’s cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds, they provide little concrete guidance on ensuring relational and cultural continuity—particularly for children with migrant backgrounds. The study highlights four policy patterns, including prioritizing adult over peer relationships, emphasizing parental contact over extended family or transnational ties, assuming Western cultural norms, and struggling to balance immediate care needs with maintaining cultural and relational connections.

Kin and fictive kin involvement can be protective following maltreatment and contribute to the development of children’s strengths. Findings show that support from kin may positively influence strength development for youth in foster care. Professionals in foster care should prioritize kin involvement to enhance support and develop youth strengths.

This study used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the Transition to Independence Program (TIP) at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, which provides targeted financial aid, concrete supports, academic coaching, and navigation assistance for college students with foster care experience. Findings show TIP participants had significantly higher retention rates than non-participating peers with foster care backgrounds and performed on par with low-income, first-generation students without foster care experience.

Out-of-home care entry can have profound effects on families, society, and a child’s development and wellbeing. This review synthesised evidence on the factors contributing to initial entry and re-entry into out-of-home care during childhood (<18 years), as well as those that protect against these outcomes.

This consensus statement on youth in foster care makes a case for a developmentally informed system of care. Although it avoids making specific policy and practice recommendations, it identifies general areas where research can inform change.

Understanding the circumstances in which children migrate is important to ensure their well-being. Yet, child migration in sub-Saharan Africa is not easy to measure. Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) provide an excellent opportunity to estimate child migration in the region.

Transitioning to adulthood is challenging. For young people raised in youth care, this is even more difficult as they often have a limited social network.

This meta-analysis examines the impact of supportive housing on child welfare outcomes, focusing on whether it reduces foster care placements, facilitates family reunification, and decreases homelessness and subsequent child welfare reports in the United States.

A randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of a peer grief support program for youth in foster care, an underrepresented population who experience disenfranchised grief. The sample included 78 youth, ages 12–20, randomly assigned to a treatment or waitlist control group.

The objective of the study is to explore the impact of residence and education status on the basic needs of street children in Pabna Municipality, Bangladesh.

This study, conducted by the Children and Family Research Center at the University of Illinois, examines the prevalence, nature, and circumstances of child maltreatment in out-of-home care, with a focus on identifying cases that occurred prior to placement but are recorded as incidents during car

This document aims to give a brief outline of the main steps taken by Bulgaria and by Romania in their struggle to reform the national child protection systems. The experience accumulated between the two countries, both in terms of similarities and differences (in terms of approach and level of success) may constitute an important basis of debate and inspiration/ learning for other countries in the region that are sharing similar post-communist heritage and are currently considering ways of approaching their own child protection reforms.

For over 20 years, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported on youth in the foster care system who are placed in residential facilities, including concerns with the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of these youth.

Residential care for children has aroused much controversy. Several scandals involving the physical and sexual abuse of residents have led to public inquiries and reports (Kent, 1997; Utting, 1997; Waterhouse, 2000). These have almost all concerned abuse by staff.

Despite significant efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been made since 2015, progress for children in recent years has stalled, been reversed, or has been insufficient in many countries and for millions of children. This UNICEF policy solutions report presents the evidence for a set of policies that have shown to generate important results across multiple children’s outcomes. These include child benefits, immunization, quality secondary education for girls, and early childhood nutrition and development programmes. 

This paper provides a comparative analysis of social work professionalization in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. By examining the different approaches across the countries, policymakers will have examples of practices that have been effective elsewhere and adopt these to suit the context of Malaysia.

This study protocol outlines the first randomized controlled trial of Hope Groups—a 12-session psychosocial, mental health, and parenting support program—among Ukrainians affected by war. The trial aims to assess its impact on caregiver mental health, violence prevention, and family well-being, with potential for global adaptation and scale-up in other crisis-affected settings if proven effective.

This paper aimed to assess the effectiveness of psychosocial and parenting support groups, called ’Hope Groups,’ on improvements in caregiver mental health, positive parenting, and prevention of violence against children, for families affected by the war in Ukraine, using a pre/post study design.

This guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on parenting interventions for parents and caregivers of children aged 0–17 years that are designed to reduce child maltreatment and harsh parenting, enhance the parent–child relationship, and prevent poor mental health among parents and emot

This policy brief explores how extended foster care in the U.S.—enabled by the Fostering Connections Act of 2008—can support young people aging out of foster care by providing critical resources and stable living arrangements through Independent Living Programs (ILPs) and Supervised Independent Living Placements (SILPs). It outlines the challenges these youth face, the evolution of related federal policy, and offers recommendations to strengthen support during their transition to adulthood.

Advocacy is about representing the views, wishes and needs of children and young people to professionals making decisions about their lives, and helping them to navigate the system, especially in times of transition.

This study explores the prevalence and multilevel risk factors of 1,309 Israeli Arab and Jewish adolescents’ experiences of unwelcome sexual behaviors by peers in residential care settings (RCSs) for at-risk children.

The 2024 Annual Report of the Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health highlights the Coalition’s expanding efforts to address the global mental health needs of children, youth, and caregivers.

A scoping review on the short-term (during care) outcomes of residential care at the user level (children and their families) was conducted.

The SNEH: Supporting Nurturing Enabling Happy Families compendium was developed by Miracle Foundation India as part of the first National Family Summit to showcase progress, insights, and best practices in advancing family-based care and child protection reforms in India. It builds on lessons from its “Leadership Dialogue” series and collaborations with government, civil society, and care-experienced youth.