Stop Orphanage Volunteering University Pledge

London School of Economics Volunteer Centre and Better Volunteering Better Care Initiative

The London School of Economics Volunteer Centre and the Better Volunteering Better Care Initiative have collaborated to develop a pledge that can be adopted by universities and other institutions of higher or further education. By adding this pledge to their websites, universities and other supporters promise not to advertise orphanage volunteering trips to students and to “endeavour to ensure that such opportunities are neither facilitated nor promoted within our institution.”

Growing up Without Parents: Socialisation and Gender Relations in Orphaned-Child-Headed Households in Rural Zimbabwe

Monica Francis-Chizororo - Journal of Southern African Studies

Drawing on ethnographic research with five child heads and their siblings in Zimbabwe, this article explores how orphaned children living in ‘child only’ households organise themselves in terms of household domestic and paid work roles, explores the socialisation of children by children and the negotiation of teenage girls' movement. 

Barriers and incentives to orphan care in a time of AIDS and economic crisis: a cross-sectional survey of caregivers in rural Zimbabwe

Brian H Howard, Carl V Phillips, Nelia Matinhure, Karen J Goodman, Sheryl A McCurdy and Cary A Johnson - BMC Public Health

This study explores barriers and possible incentives to orphan care in Zimbabwe.

Multi-informant perspective on psychological distress among Ghanaian orphans and vulnerable children within the context of HIV/AIDS

Doku PN & Minnis H - Psychological Medicine

This study investigated mental health problems among children affected by HIV/AIDS, compared with control groups of children orphaned by other causes, and non-orphans.

Kinnected: Keeping Children in Families

ACCI Relief

Kinnected is a program run in 10 countries by the organization ACCI Relief aimed at preserving and strengthening families and assisting children currently in residential care to achieve their right to be raised in a family. This report describes Kinnected’s programs and initiatives underway in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Lesotho and includes some individual case studies.

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Researching the linkages between social protection and children’s care in South Africa: The Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant and their effects on child well-being and care

Keetie Roelen, Helen Karki Chettri, Suzanne Clulow, Camilla Jones, Payal Saksena and Emily Delap - Family for Every Child

This report presents research on the impact of two cash transfer programs for vulnerable children in South Africa on children’s care.

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Orphanhood and mistreatment drive children to leave home – A study from early AIDS-affected Kagera region, Tanzania

Jeanette Olsson, Staffan Höjer, Lennarth Nyström, Maria Emmelin - International Social Work

The aim of this mixed-method study was to explore the trajectories of leaving home, and views and experiences among children and youth in the Kagera region in Tanzania, who have lived on the streets or been domestic workers. 

Foster and Adoptive parent training: A process and outcome investigation of the preservice PRIDE program

Jordanna J. Nash & Robert J. Flynn - Children and Youth Services Review

This study investigated the widely-used but under-researched program for training resource parents (i.e., foster, adoptive, or kinship parents) known as preservice PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education). The sample consisted of 174 participants in Ontario, Canada.

From Foster Care to Juvenile Justice: Exploring characteristics of youth in three cities

J.J. Cutulia, Robert M. Goerge, Claudia Coulton, Maryanne Schretzman, David Crampton, Benjamin J. Charvat, Nina Lalich, Jessica A. Raitheld, Cristobal Gacitua, Eun Lye Lee - Children and Youth Services Review

This study documents the rates at which children involved with foster care [in the United States] enter the juvenile justice system (crossover or dually involved), and the factors associated with this risk. 

A conceptual model of psychosocial adjustment of foster care adoptees based on a scoping review of contributing factors

Andrea del Pozo de Bolger, Debra Dunstan and Melissa Kaltner - Clinical Psychologist

The purpose of this article is to provide psychologists and adoption researchers with a conceptual model for the psychosocial adjustment of foster care adoptees with a background of maltreatment. 

A framework for Indigenous adoptee reconnection: Reclaiming language and identity

Sarah Wright Cardinal - Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education

This article begins by summarizing the scholarly literature on the "Sixties Scoop," a period in Canadian history in which an estimated 20,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were removed from their families, and describes a proposed theoretical framework of Indigenous adoptee identity reclamation emerging from my reflexive process in writing a critical personal narrative.

The Human Rights of Unaccompanied Minors in the USA from Central America

David Androff - Journal of Human Rights and Social Work

This paper examines the immigration of children from Central America to the USA by setting the context of immigration across the USA–Mexico border, reviewing the extent and causes of the influx in immigration, and detailing the political, legal, and social work responses to the child migrants. 

Court-Appointed Special Advocates in the Rural South: A Fidelity Assessment

Shanna N. Felix - Georgia Southern University Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies

This thesis study evaluates the fidelity of a rural Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Georgia, USA. The CASA program trains volunteers to serve as special legal representation for children in the court system who have been abused or neglected.

Childhood Poverty and Cognitive Development in Latin America in the 21st Century

M. Soledad Segretin1,2, M. Julia Hermida3, Lucía M. Prats, Carolina S. Fracchia, Eliana Ruetti, and Sebastián J. Lipina - New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

The aim of the present paper is to systematically review the empirical studies that have analyzed the associations between poverty and cognitive development in children under 18 years of age from Latin American and Caribbean countries between 2000 and 2015.

‘I want to be better than you:’ lived experiences of intergenerational child maltreatment prevention among teenage mothers in and beyond foster care

Elizabeth M. Aparicio - Child & Family Social Work

This study focused on a particular dimension of teenage motherhood in foster care: participants' efforts to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect with their own children. 

Preventing Rapid Repeat Pregnancy and Promoting Positive Parenting among Young Mothers in Foster Care

Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, Kantahyanee W. Murray, Julia M. O'Connor, Berenice R. Rushovich, Desyree A. Dixon & Richard P. Barth - Social Work in Public Health

This article assesses the evidence-based programs that are most likely to improve key health and well-being outcomes for teenage mothers in the United States and yields a list that reflects the best evidence for efficacy and effectiveness.

“The love that I was missing”: Exploring the lived experience of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care

Elizabeth Aparicioa, Edward V. Pecukonisa, Shalita O'Nealeb - Children and Youth Services Review

The present study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences and meaning of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care in the United States.

Qualitative evaluation of the Teenage Mothers Project in Uganda: a community-based empowerment intervention for unmarried teenage mothers

Joanne N Leerlooijer, Arjan ER Bos, Robert AC Ruiter, Miranda AJ van Reeuwijk, Liesbeth E Rijsdijk, Nathan Nshakira and Gerjo Kok - BMC Public Health

The present study explored the changes resulting from the Teenage Mothers Project (TMP) in Eastern Uganda, a program that empowers unmarried teenage mothers to cope with the consequences of early pregnancy and motherhood, as well as factors that either enabled or inhibited these changes.

Early motherhood: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of African Australian teenage mothers in greater Melbourne, Australia

Mimmie Claudine Ngum Chi Watts, Pranee Liamputtong, and Celia Mcmichael - BMC Public Health

This research aimed to solicit the lived experiences of African Australian young refugee women who have experienced early motherhood in Australia.

Agamben and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in child protective services

Lorraine Waterhouse & Janice McGhee - Families, Relationships and Societies

This article draws on Giorgio Agamben's (1995) theory of 'bare life' to examine the identity and the political positioning of child welfare-involved mothers in contemporary Western child protection systems to complement the primary focus on their children.

The State of the Social Service Workforce 2016 Report: A review of five years of workforce strengthening

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance

This report captures what has been accomplished in social service workforce strengthening in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and highlights areas for future intervention. Progress made to strengthen the social service workforce within these countries is useful when reflecting on global trends and ways forward.

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Altruistic Exploitation: Orphan Tourism and Global Social Work

Karen Smith Rotabi, Jini L. Roby and Kelley McCreery Bunkers - British Journal of Social Work

Based on an exhaustive review of the global literature and utilising an innovative theoretical framework of ‘altruistic exploitation’, the authors explore the ironic juxtaposition of benefits and harms associated with orphan tourism to the various stakeholders.

A population-level and longitudinal study of adolescent mothers and intergenerational maltreatment

Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Julie A. Cederbaum, Bryn King, Andrea L. Eastman and Penelope K. Trickett - American Journal of Epidemiology

The researchers in this study generated population-level estimates of the relationship between maternal history of maltreatment and next-generation abuse and neglect in teenage mothers in California, USA.

The Children (Amendment) Act, 2016

The Republic of Uganda

The Children (Amendment) Act of 2016 is an Act to amend the Children's Act Cap. 59 of Uganda to enhance the protection of children; to strengthen the provision for guardianship of children; to strengthen the conditions for intercountry adoption; to prohibit corporal punishment; to provide for the National Children Authority; repeal the National Council for Children Cap. 60 and to provide for other related matters. 

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Migration, Remittances and Nutrition Outcomes of Left-Behind Children: A National-Level Quantitative Assessment of Guatemala

Jason Davis, Noli Brazil - PLoS ONE

This investigation into economic migration of Guatemalan parents shows that the timing of migration events in relation to left-behind children’s ages has important, often negative and likely permanent, repercussions on the physical development of their children.

Building Social Connectedness: A Brief Guide for Practitioners Working with Children and Youth

Shirley Pendlebury - Synergos Institute

This brief guide: defines social isolation and social connectedness; explains why it is important to build social connectedness; outlines enabling policies; provides guidelines on how practitioners can support children and youth to build meaningful social connections.

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Social Connectedness Programme

Synergos Institute

This report describes the Social Connectedness Programme and the three strands of research that inform it. The report defines social connectedness and social isolation and explains the benefits of social connectedness.

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