Concerns for children in institutions

What are some of the concerns regarding children in institutions that has meant an international call on governments to phase out their use? In this video, Nigel is interviewed by a young care leaver, Gary Patterson. He asks Nigel about concerns for children in residential institutions.

Nigel speaks about concerns for any child who is placed in an institution. The concerns he is speaking about are applicable to all forms of unsuitable residential care, including those you may find, for example, in large children’s homes, transit centres and emergency shelters.

One of the main purposes of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children is to improve implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as other international provisions regarding the protection and well-being of children. This includes unaccompanied and separated children and those who are accompanied but are placed in care due to protection risks.

In this video, Nigel speaks about concerns for children’s rights and the well-being and developmental outcomes for children who have been placed in institutions. He reminds us that the Guidelines recognise care ‘should be provided under conditions that promote the child’s full and harmonious development’ and how the role of the State is important in ensuring ‘the supervision of the safety, well-being, and development of any child placed in alternative care’.

The ‘See Also’ section below has a links to other reading materials that may be of interest to you.