Nearly half a million children – or 456,000 – across Europe and Central Asia live in residential care facilities, including large-scale institutions, according to a new report published today by UNICEF.
Pathways to Better Protection: taking stock of the situation of children in alternative care in Europe and Central Asia notes that the rate of children living in residential care facilities across Europe and Central Asia is double the global average, with 232 per 100,000 children living in residential care facilities compared to 105 per 100,000 globally.
“We have a long way to go before ending Europe and Central Asia’s long and painful legacy of institutionalising children. While there have been some improvements, progress has been far from equal. Children with disabilities have largely been left behind,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
Western Europe has the highest rate of children in residential care facilities at 294 per 100,000 children – nearly triple the global average. While facilities in Western Europe tend to be small and integrated into communities, there remains an overreliance on residential care instead of family-based care. The higher rate is partly due to an increase in unaccompanied and separated children and young people seeking asylum in Europe in recent years.
The report also highlights some positive trends. For example, since 2010 many countries have seen a decrease in the proportion of children living in residential care facilities. In Bulgaria, Moldova and Georgia, data suggest that family-based care has become the dominant type of formal alternative care arrangement as governments pursued deinstitutionalisation policies and made significant investments in family-based care. In Türkiye and Romania, investments in prevention, family support and promotion of foster care helped reduce the number of children in certain types of residential care facilities, such as children’s homes.
Still, there has been little progress for children with disabilities who are far more likely to be placed in residential care facilities than children without disabilities. In countries where data is available, children with disabilities account for between 4 per cent and up to 87 per cent of children in residential care facilities. In more than half of countries with available data, the proportion of children with disabilities in all types of formal residential care has increased between 2015 and 2021.
The negative impacts of family separation and institutionalisation on children’s health, development and well-being are well-documented. Children living in large-scale institutions often face emotional neglect and higher rates of abuse and exploitation, exposing them to mental health problems, psychological distress, and trauma.
Children in institutions can struggle to form positive relationships throughout childhood and adulthood, leaving them feeling isolated and lonely. Children who are in residential care – especially from a young age – can experience cognitive, linguistic, and other developmental delays, and are more likely to be in conflict with the law, perpetuating cycles of institutionalisation.
In alignment with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Guidelines on Alternative Care, UNICEF calls for systematic closure of large-scale institutions used to house and educate children. This includes replacing residential facilities housing children with disabilities or unaccompanied and separated children, with high quality family- and community-based care.
