Residential care varies greatly in type and quality, often referred to as orphanages or children’s homes. It is a broad term that encompasses large-scale institutional care, small group homes, and short-term group care facilities. Its basic characteristic is care provided by paid staff and/or volunteers to a group of children in a nonfamily setting.
Residential care should be considered a last resort when family-based care is not appropriate for a child. However, for some children and youth, in unique circumstances, residential care may be an option. This could include children living on the streets, children involved in armed conflict or sex trafficking, or children and families in emergency contexts, such as natural disasters. Ideally, placement in residential care is temporary and transitional, ultimately leading to family care.
Proper assessment, gatekeeping, and child-centered decision-making processes are of utmost importance when determining whether a child should be placed in a residential setting, as well as to prevent unnecessary long-term placement.
It is important to make a distinction between residential care that is large-scale institutions, for example, housing more than 15 or even hundreds of children, and the more individualized setting of small group or “family style” residential care homes. Large-scale institutional care is shown to have poor outcomes for children and is not regarded as an appropriate option on the continuum of care. Small group homes that offer formal residential care in groups of 5 to 14 children under the care of consistent live-in care providers.
Types of small group residential care include:
- Group homes for youth who have left long-term residential care and need support transitioning to family or independent living;
- Safe houses or shelters for especially vulnerable children who require protection for a period of time;
- Targeted therapeutic or rehabilitative services, such as psychological counseling or medical services, preparing a child for reintegration into family;
- Respite care services to provide biological, foster and adoptive families with a brief break in caring for children, especially those with special needs; and
- Temporary care when family placement has been arranged but the family needs time to prepare.
There is a growing movement around the world to support the transition from reliance on formal residential care to greater investment in family-based care.
Resources
Scaling Down: Reducing, Reshaping and Improving Residential Care Around the World
National Standards for Best Practices in Charitable Children’s Institutions
Minimum Standards of Care for Child Care Facilities Zambia
Faith to Action Transitioning Tools
Videos
Children, Orphanages, and Families: A Summary of Research to Help Guide Faith-Based Action