The book provides a framework for structuring the improvement process and teaches users how to craft actionable questions about system outcomes. Chapters demonstrate analytic methods for answering those questions, grounded in foundational principles of longitudinal research.

This AP article describes how Nigerian troops rescued seven children and two women who had been kidnapped during an attack on an orphanage in Kogi State in April 2026.

The article reports on a landmark case in which a Greenlandic mother, Keira Alexandra Kronvold, successfully challenged Danish authorities for unlawfully removing her newborn shortly after birth based on contested parenting assessments.

This study aims to investigate the psychological factors influencing the mental health of orphans in institutional care in Pakistan, focusing on aspects such as childhood trauma, attachment disruptions, life satisfaction, and social isolation. The findings reveal varying levels of engagement, ranging from active involvement and contentment to feelings of isolation and nostalgia for home.

Using a qualitative approach, this study captures the voices of juveniles in correctional facilities, orphanages and street environments in Zambia. Findings reveal patterns of emotional distress, societal exclusion and systemic failures that contribute to cycles of vulnerability and marginalization.

Unaccompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness are at risk of significant lifelong negative outcomes. Supported accommodation services are a critical response to homelessness; however, these services do not always meet this cohort’s needs. This research project examines the effectiveness of Australia’s supported accommodation services in meeting the needs of unaccompanied children and young people aged 12–24. It proposes principles to guide policy and practice toward a better system.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of street children in Benin City, Nigeria, finding that family breakdown, poverty, abuse, and lack of parental care are key drivers of children leaving home. It shows that once on the streets, children adopt various survival strategies, including informal labor, begging, crime, and substance use, and calls for coordinated government and community action to strengthen families and support reintegration.

This review examines 43 documents on leaving care in Asia, highlighting limited research and significant gaps in policies and practices supporting care leavers. It finds that while some aftercare support exists, insufficient attention is given to young people’s physical and mental health, underscoring the need for stronger, context-specific policies and research in the region.

This report presents findings from a four-year mixed-methods longitudinal study of the experiences of children, carers, and parents in the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system. It examines how and why the emotional, social and cultural wellbeing of children varies over the course of their journey through OOHC and provides insights into how policy and practice can better support them.

This study explores how children and young people in out-of-home care in Australia understand and experience “home,” finding it to be a deeply meaningful but complex and evolving concept shaped by relationships, safety, and personal space. It highlights that creating and sustaining a sense of home requires ongoing effort from carers and workers within often challenging care systems.

This study of children in residential care in Pakistan finds that perceived institutional neglect is strongly linked to attachment insecurity, emotional dysregulation, and conduct problems, with attachment insecurity acting as a key mediating factor. The study highlights the importance of enhanced caregiver training, emotional support mechanisms, and the establishment of nurturing and stable environments within residential institutions to promote children’s psychological well-being and social adjustment.

This study evaluates Ireland’s Parental Advocacy and Information Service (PAIS), showing how independent advocacy supports parents involved in child protection cases by improving their understanding of rights, strengthening communication with professionals, and enabling more meaningful participation in decision-making. It finds that advocacy can reduce emotional distress and foster more collaborative relationships, highlighting its potential to transform family support within child protection systems.

This narrative review draws on 17 Australian public inquiry reports to examine systemic factors in residential care that increase risks of harmful sexual behaviour and child sexual exploitation. It identifies key issues—such as poor placement matching, an underprepared workforce, fragmented reporting systems, and disempowering practices—and calls for a shift from individual-focused responses to broader structural reforms.

This brief presents findings from a global mapping of parenting programmes that aim to prevent violence against children and against women while advancing gender equality. It offers practical guidance for policymakers, programme designers, and implementers on how to develop, scale, and strengthen parenting interventions that promote safer, more equitable family environments.

Developed to support efforts to strengthen the child protection system in the Philippines, this report documents two complementary approaches to delivering child protection services. Drawing on fieldwork, stakeholder consultations, and system analysis, the paper presents how local government-led Child Protection Centers and hospital-based Women and Children Protection Units provide integrated, child-focused, survivor-centered responses to violence against children.

This scoping review highlights the limited evidence on young people aged 15–17 entering care for the first time, with only five studies meeting inclusion criteria. It finds that care entry for this group is linked to complex individual and family factors, underscoring the need for more diverse and in-depth research to better inform early interventions and prevention strategies.

This narrative review analyzes 161 recent studies across 67 countries on the shift from institutional to family-based care, finding that while most research supports de-institutionalization, it is often limited by small samples, qualitative methods, and weak study designs. It highlights significant evidence gaps and calls for more rigorous, transparent, and replicable research to better inform policy and practice.

This study examines the experiences of care-experienced adults over 25 living in supported housing in England, highlighting the challenges they face after aging out of statutory support, including homelessness and social isolation. It finds that sustained emotional and practical support, such as that provided by the Rees Foundation, is critical in promoting stability, safety, and hope, underscoring the need for extended services for this often-overlooked group.

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

At a time when the Global Charter on Children’s Care Reform is calling for stronger commitment and action to ensure children grow up in safe and loving families, FAFICA collaborated with the Global Campaign on Children’s Care Reform Working Group to convene the webinar “Over 30 Million Reasons to Act: Advancing Family Care for Children in Africa.”

This review examines interventions for orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa, identifying a wide range of approaches but highlighting uneven coverage, limited evidence on effectiveness, and challenges such as insufficient funding and government support. It concludes that more sustainable impact requires integrated interventions that first address basic needs and then support children’s psychological and developmental well-being.

This study examines the long-term effects of early institutional care in Zurich, finding that infants exposed to severe psychosocial deprivation faced significantly higher mortality risk and lost an estimated 12 years of life compared to peers raised in the community. It highlights that lack of nurturing interaction in early childhood has lasting consequences into adulthood, underscoring the critical importance of responsive care for child health and survival.

This study explores the large-scale implementation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health for Teens (PLH-Teens) program in Tanzania, examining implementers’ experiences in delivering a parenting intervention to over 75,000 beneficiaries in a low-resource setting. It finds that while scaling evidence-based programs to reduce violence against children is feasible, long-term success depends on government support, strong local engagement, and addressing practical challenges to sustain implementation at scale.

This report presents findings from the SEEDs community-led child protection pilot implemented in Manica Province, Mozambique (2023–2024). The approach aimed to strengthen community ownership, enhance local capacity, and generate evidence for scalable child protection programming.

This study examines the challenges of deinstitutionalization (DI) in Ghana, particularly for child trafficking survivors, highlighting how structural, socio-cultural, and economic factors hinder safe reintegration into family-based care. It finds that while policies promote alternatives to institutional care, effective DI requires sustained investment in community services, poverty reduction, and trauma-informed support to prevent re-trafficking and ensure long-term child well-being.

This study examines institutional care policy and operations in Nigeria using a qualitative literature review, with a focus on how children’s rights frameworks shape child welfare practices. The study concludes that institutions can be improved to be comparable to family living but they should be the last resort.

The 2025 BICON Conference Summary Report captures the outcomes of the 6th Biennial International Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 15–16 October 2025. It brings together key discussions, insights, and recommendations from across the conference, providing a clear direction for strengthening care reform and advancing inclusive, family-based systems for children.

The 2025 BICON Conference Report captures the outcomes of the 6th Biennial International Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 15–16 October 2025. It brings together key discussions, insights, and recommendations from across the conference, providing a clear direction for strengthening care reform and advancing inclusive, family-based systems for children.

This study finds that adolescents in residential care in Chile report lower levels of subjective well-being than their peers in the general population, with notable gender differences in how well-being is experienced. The findings highlight the need for more targeted policies and interventions that address both emotional and cognitive aspects of well-being for young people in care.

This study examines the early stages of deinstitutionalization in Zimbabwe, finding that progress is hindered by inconsistent processes, limited workforce capacity, and resistance from institutional stakeholders. It highlights the need for clearer guidelines, stronger training, and better support systems to enable effective transitions from institutional to family-based care.

This qualitative study of a community-based foster care programme in Kenya finds that successful placements depend on foster parent commitment, supportive family relationships, children’s emotional adjustment, and strong community cultural values. It highlights the importance of careful caregiver–child matching, ongoing support, and community engagement to strengthen foster care outcomes and sustainability.

This study of homeless former foster youth in California highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of their foster care experiences, with some reporting belonging and identity support alongside loneliness, unmet needs, discrimination, and abuse. The findings underscore the importance of centering youth perspectives to better inform child welfare services and prevent homelessness among care leavers.

This study finds that grandparenting as primary care in China is generally associated with lower overall and social-emotional development among preschool children. However, it can have a protective effect for children living with a single parent—particularly in low-income families—highlighting the need for targeted support and training for grandparent caregivers.

This study of young people in residential care in Romania finds that childhood trauma and maladaptive coping are linked to poorer perceived social skills, while adaptive coping is associated with better outcomes. It also shows that self-efficacy plays a key moderating role, highlighting the importance of building both confidence and adaptive coping skills to support healthy social development regardless of trauma exposure.

This article reviews 43 grey literature sources on care-leaving policies and practices in Asia, addressing a major gap in research from the Global South. It finds that while some aftercare supports exist, they are uneven and often overlook young people’s physical and mental health needs, with important implications for improving policy, practice, and future research.

This study finds that young people in China experience leaving state care as a gradual, emotionally and materially complex transition shaped by readiness, relationships, and access to housing and income, while staff tend to frame it as a fixed administrative cutoff with limited follow-up support. It highlights systemic gaps—such as fragmented responsibilities, hukou-related transitions, and abrupt loss of support—and calls for more gradual, coordinated, and well-supported pathways to independence.

يوفّر هذا الفيديو لمحة موجزة عن المذكّرة الإرشاديّة لطلب المساعدة الفنّيّة، والتي توضّح كيفية قيام الحكومات بطلب الدعم الفني من فريق من مستشاري إصلاح أنظمة الرعاية، وذلك من أجل تطوير الالتزامات أو البدء في تنفيذها. وتشمل هذه الإرشادات وصفًا لأنواع المساعدة الفنية المتاحة، وطرق تقديمها، بالإضافة إلى دليل إرشادي خطوة بخطوة لتقديم طلبات الدعم.

وقد تشمل أمثلة المساعدة الفنية، على سبيل المثال لا الحصر: إجراء مراجعة فنية لالتزامات الدول، تيسير تقييمات أنظمة الرعاية، دعم التدريبات، توفير موارد ونماذج إرشادية، أو إعداد مسودات لوثائق وأدوات داعمة.

وفّر هذا الفيديو لمحة موجزة عن المذكّرة الإرشاديّة لطلب المساعدة الفنّيّة، والتي توضّح كيفية قيام الحكومات بطلب الدعم الفني من فريق من مستشاري إصلاح أنظمة الرعاية، وذلك من أجل تطوير الالتزامات أو البدء في تنفيذها. وتشمل هذه الإرشادات وصفًا لأنواع المساعدة الفنية المتاحة، وطرق تقديمها، بالإضافة إلى دليل إرشادي خطوة بخطوة لتقديم طلبات الدعم.

Cette vidéo présente brièvement la note d'orientation pour demander une assistance technique, qui donne des instructions claires sur la manière dont les gouvernements peuvent demander l’aide technique d’une équipe de conseillers sur la réforme de la prise en charge afin d’élaborer ou de commencer à mettre en œuvre ces engagements. Elle comprend une description des différents types d’assistance technique disponibles, comment cette assistance peut être procurée ainsi que les différentes étapes pour soumettre une demande d’assistance technique.

Cette vidéo présente brièvement la note d'orientation pour demander une assistance technique, qui donne des instructions claires sur la manière dont les gouvernements peuvent demander l’aide technique d’une équipe de conseillers sur la réforme de la prise en charge afin d’élaborer ou de commencer à mettre en œuvre ces engagements. Elle comprend une description des différents types d’assistance technique disponibles, comment cette assistance peut être procurée ainsi que les différentes étapes pour soumettre une demande d’assistance technique.

Este video ofrece una breve descripción de la Nota guía para solicitar asistencia técnica, que ofrece instrucciones claras sobre cómo los gobiernos pueden solicitar asistencia técnica a un equipo especializado de reforma del cuidado, ya sea para desarrollar o empezar a implementar esos compromisos. Describe los diferentes tipos de asistencia técnica disponibles, las modalidades en que se puede proporcionar y una guía paso a paso para presentar las solicitudes.

Este video ofrece una breve descripción de la Guía para el desarrollo de compromisos, que apoya a los gobiernos en el diseño de compromisos ambiciosos, medibles y específicos para cada contexto que correspondan a los principios de la Carta. Incluye criterio práctico, ejemplos y enfoques participativos para garantizar que los compromisos sean realistas, cuenten con los recursos necesarios y respondan a las necesidades de las niñas, niños y adolescentes.

This webinar celebrated a decade of evidence in action and highlight the next phase of INSPIRE’s global implementation and research agenda. It brought together global leaders, researchers, and practitioners to discuss what the new evidence means for countries, sectors, and systems working to end violence against children.

This webinar held in partnership with Save the Children and the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance (GSSWA) focuses on Strengthening the Community-Level Social Welfare Workforce (CLSWW). The session presents key learnings from the nine‑country analysis and introduces new practical guidance to help practitioners, governments, and partners strengthen the CLSWW through a Child Protection Systems Strengthening (CPSS) and localization lens.

The U.S. government’s foreign assistance reductions and rescissions in 2025 are reshaping the global policy and financing landscape for children in adversity. This report, drawing on consultations with over 200 stakeholders, outlines strategies across four pillars to mitigate harm from the cuts and strengthen local capacity to support vulnerable children, families, and communities.

This historical overview documents milestones in the evolution of the U.S. government’s work to support the development, care, and protection of children globally, as well as coordination efforts across the U.S. government to promote a holistic response to the needs of vulnerable children. It draws on a review of publicly available documentation and conversations with numerous United States Agency for International Development (USAID) staff and partners involved in work on behalf of highly vulnerable children over more than three decades.

The brief outlines a nurturing care approach for early childhood development that integrates health, nutrition, safety, responsive caregiving, and early learning to support children’s well-being and long-term outcomes. It highlights that children with developmental delays and disabilities face heightened risks of exclusion and calls for inclusive, family-centered policies and services that strengthen community-based support and ensure equitable access to care.

This study examines the impact of clientelism on reintegration and family-strengthening efforts for children in Cambodian and Myanmar residential care institutions where clientelism is present. It finds that patron–client relationships between directors and families often undermine reintegration by limiting parental agency and co-opting reintegration to serve the interests of directors rather than children.

From 28–30 January 2026, fifty representatives from governments, civil society, faith-based organisations, UN agencies, academia, and young people with experience of care gathered at Wilton Park in the UK to discuss how the Global Campaign for Children’s Care Reform can move from commitment to collective action. This report provides a record of the dialogue.