This document presents a comprehensive report on a pilot project in Kenya that tested the Social Cohesion for Disability Inclusion Approach as part of the Changing the Way We Care℠ initiative. The report details the implementation process, participant feedback, and measurable shifts in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among caregivers and community members, highlighting increased empathy, inclusion, and advocacy.

As part of the Global Campaign on Children’s Care Reform, the UK government is encouraging countries to strengthen families, ex

This report presents findings from an evaluation by Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) that used a realist approach to examine how care reform progressed in Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Moldova across five key system components. It identifies advocacy, government ownership, collaboration, and capacity-building as major drivers of change and offers recommendations for governments and partners to embed family care in national systems, strengthen coordination and workforce capacity, and sustain reforms through evidence, shared learning, and long-term commitment.

At the close of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) The Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative launched in 2018 with the aim to reform child care systems by promoting safe, nurturing family-based care over institutional care.

At the close of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) The Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative launched in 2018 with the aim to reform child care systems by promoting safe, nurturing family-based care over institutional care.

At the close of the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) The Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative launched in 2018 with the aim to reform child care systems by promoting safe, nurturing family-based care over institutional care.

This contribution aims at highlighting principles as well as recommended practice to guide states in ensuring a cross-border kafāla placement is in the best interests of a child.

The report is an attempt to capture the complex and difficult situation faced by unaccompanied children seeking international protection at the Polish-Belarusian border. It describes the legal and factual state of affairs in 2024.

This document provides an overview of the Policy Analysis and Benchmarking Tool for Universal Parenting Support. The tool is intended to help governments analyse the current landscape of parenting support and plan for future expansion.

This country care profile provides an overview of key lessons learned in the children’s care reform process in Kenya, including successes, challenges and areas for progress, and gaps in learning and best practice.

Children affected by conflict, displacement, and disasters face heightened risks of family separation, underscoring the need to strengthen alternative care systems. To update and adapt the Alternative Care in Emergencies (ACE) Toolkit to current realities, the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action’s Unaccompanied and Separated Children Task Force conducted a 2024 global survey—led by Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee—to inform revised, context-responsive guidance and address emerging policy and practice gaps.

Cet outil vise à aider les praticiens à atteindre les objectifs suivants lorsqu'ils fournissent un soutien technique aux institutions en transition :

This report presents findings from a small-scale qualitative study commissioned by Family for Every Child, examining how kinship care is understood and experienced in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explores the challenges faced by kinship carers and their support needs.

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit theologischen und historischen Hintergründen christlichen Engagements für Waisen speziell im deutschen Kontext und stellt wichtige Forschungsergebnisse der letzten Jahrzehnte zum Kindeswohl in Waisenheimen dar. Dabei werden auch gewohnten Denkmuster hinterfragt und Alternativen aufgezeigt, die im besten Interesse der Kinder sind.

This article, by Markus Köker, examines the theological, historical, and practical dimensions of Christian involvement in orphanages, particularly focusing on institutions in the Global South and the support they receive from the Global North. Köker traces how good intentions, religious motivations, and volunteer tourism have sustained orphanage systems that often harm children’s development and perpetuate family separation.

Street-connected children in Ghana face systemic marginalization, requiring comprehensive interventions at the family, community, and policy levels. Based on insights from 12 social workers, this study highlights micro-, mezzo-, and macro-level strategies to reduce the number of street-connected children and support their reintegration into society.

Italy and Türkiye, both key transit countries for unaccompanied children, have legal frameworks to support them, yet gaps between policy and practice hinder access to services and a smooth transition to adulthood. This study, based on qualitative fieldwork and 23 interviews conducted in both countries, examines reception systems, accommodation services, and the challenges unaccompanied children face during this critical life stage.

This study assessed the mental health of children in 12 Nigerian residential institutions and found that many had abnormal scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, with risks linked to orphan status, type of institution, and length of stay. The findings highlight the urgent need for routine mental health assessments and better care for children in residential settings.

This book unveils unique research on the transformative power of listening to children, exploring how they navigate family life and relationships. It offers fresh insights for theories, policies and practices in support of children’s welfare.

This study explored the experiences of 11 young mothers in Western Australia with out-of-home care (OHC) backgrounds, highlighting that leaving care planning and post-care support often failed to meet their needs, particularly around parenting. Participants felt underprepared and under-supported, but expressed determination to break cycles of OHC, pointing to the need for improved services and future research.

The Voice of the Child toolkit is an evidence-based resource designed for researchers, service providers, clinicians, and others keen to involve children and young people in their work – whether they are just starting out or looking to expand their skills. Drawing on research, consultations, and best practice, this toolkit offers practical guidance for planning, designing, and implementing a process of involvement – whatever your context. 

Este estudio de caso sobre cómo regular el volunturismo que involucra a niñas, niños y adolescentes se basa en el análisis de modelos viables resultantes de las experiencias de los países de origen y destino seleccionados que emprendieron iniciativas para abordar esta cuestión en los últimos años.

This case study on how to regulate voluntourism that involves children is based on the analysis of actionable models resulting from the experiences of the selected origin and destination countries that undertook efforts to address this issue over the last years.

Este documento es un estudio de caso basado en la historia de transformación del Hogar Esquipulas, liderada por la Asociación de Religiosas Franciscanas de San Antonio en Esquipulas, Chiquimula, Guatemala, representa un testimonio inspirador del compromiso profundo con el bienestar de los niños, niñas y adolescentes.

Desde Tijuana, este relato muestra cómo una comunidad religiosa, las Hermanas de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Buen Pastor, decidió pasar de un modelo institucional de cuidado a un enfoque centrado en las familias y la vida comunitaria, priorizando el derecho de cada niña, niño y adolescente a crecer en un entorno seguro, amoroso y protector.

This Policy and Practice Short has emerged from an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project funded by the European Union (EU). The project has become known as the PANDA project, an acronym drawn from the words participation and collaboration for action, and its focus is on promoting the participation rights of young children, aged 12 and under in child welfare and child protection.

This study explores the experiences of Palestinian parents in East Jerusalem whose young children were removed from their homes due to verified maltreatment, highlighting the disruption to their parental roles and the added challenges of legal, political, and geographic barriers. Findings show how parents cope with separation, from acceptance to viewing it as temporary, and call for policies and interventions that address the intersecting socio-political and legal complexities shaping their lives.

This study reviews Pakistan’s legal and policy responses to child abuse, noting that while comprehensive laws exist, enforcement remains fragmented and inconsistent across provinces. It calls for systemic reforms—including centralized coordination, victim-centered services, mandatory reporting, and stronger prevention measures—to move from reactive responses toward a sustainable, multi-sectoral child protection framework.

This paper outlines a research agenda to guide the initial stages of work of the new Notre Dame Strengthening Families (NDSF) Research Initiative in the U.S. This initiative is focused on building knowledge around the economics of families and evidence-based ways to promote and strengthen healthy families.

This report examines the challenges faced by local authorities in providing cost-effective, high-quality residential care for looked-after children in England, where numbers have risen to 83,630 as of March 2024.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and the UNICEF Refugee Response Office in the Czech Republic commissioned this report to assess the situation of refugee children in alternative care. While examining the broader system and identifying how this system can be improved, the analysis pays particular attention to the needs of refugee children from Ukraine following the significant increase in refugee arrivals since 2022.

This study examines the Parent Partner program, which employs parents with lived experience of child removal to support families in the reunification process. Findings suggest that children whose parents worked with Parent Partners were more likely to be safely reunified, indicating the model’s potential as an effective child welfare intervention.

Family engagement is a critical component of child welfare practice. The present study analyzes publicly available data to document U.S. state efforts to engage families.

This article records briefly the history of the Family Inclusion Network as an organisation that promotes family inclusive child protection practice.

This position paper examines how stigma shapes reproductive health, poverty alleviation, and child welfare, influencing policy, service provision, and lived experiences. It argues that stigma is a structural barrier that worsens inequalities and calls for a cross-sectoral, lived experience–informed approach to reduce exclusion and improve outcomes.

In this report, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Heba Hagrass, highlights barriers faced by children with disabilities and their caregivers to the enjoyment of their human rights, in the absence of adequate support services.

This article examines the challenges of foster care in Nigeria, highlighting risks of abuse—especially in informal placements—and questioning whether foster care is always necessary or suitable. It concludes that foster care should be a last resort, urging preventive measures and, where unavoidable, the use of safe and appropriate foster homes that prioritize the best interests of the child.

This study explores the policy environment for children cared for by grandparents in Libode, Eastern Cape, South Africa, finding no specific policies to guide or support such caregiving. It recommends developing dedicated policies, resources, and information to better equip grandparents, while contributing new insights to scholarship and informing policymakers.

This article examines challenges in Sri Lanka’s child protection system for children with disabilities, drawing on insights from 11 professionals to identify critical gaps in policy, services, and societal attitudes. It proposes eight practical, cost-conscious strategies to strengthen disability-inclusive protection aligned with the UN CRPD, offering lessons for global child protection reform.

In The Empowerment Shift, Emmanuel "Nabs" Nabieu—who once grew up in an orphanage himself—offers a clear, practical roadmap for transforming how we care for vulnerable children.

The Kafaalah Community Engagement Facilitator's Flipbook is a practical guide designed to support trained facilitators—such as Children Officers, Imams, Ustadh, Ustadhas, and other Muslim community leaders—in delivering community sessions on the Kafaalah. It offers structured guidance for engaging male caregivers, female caregivers, and children through interactive sessions.

The Kafaalah Facilitator’s Guide is part of a training package to strengthen understanding and implementation of Kafaalah, a family-based alternative care option for children in Kenya. Developed by the Government of Kenya with support from Changing the Way We Care, it provides structured session plans, tools, and activities to help child protection professionals and community members effectively promote and practice Kafaalah.

This package of materials on Kafaalah - was developed by the Government of Kenya in collaboration with Changing the Way We Care, UNICEF, and other key development partners and civil society actors.

This article examines how care leavers navigate their relationships with biological mothers and fathers. It is based on a qualitative study from Austria, which focused on social networks and family relationships of 18-to 27-year-old care-experienced youth.

This study examined the short-term impacts of COVID-19-related orphanhood on children and adolescents in peri-urban Khayelitsha, South Africa, finding that those who lost a parent or primary caregiver experienced significantly greater mental health burdens, food insecurity, caregiving responsibilities, and engagement in social risk behaviours compared to peers without such loss.