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Orphan Care Model Part 1: History and Background

Millions of orphans

UNICEF now estimates that there are approximately 145 million orphaned children in the world today. The majority of these children are so-called “single orphans,” who through a variety of circumstances have lost one parent, and whose remaining parent may be unable or unwilling to care for them.  Included in that UNICEF estimate are approximately 15 million “double orphans,” children who have lost both parents, usually through disease or warfare, but sometimes by abandonment. While the majority of these children live outside of the U.S., our country’s foster care system still enrolls approximately 500,000 children, most of whom are considered “social orphans.” These are children whose parents, either through disability, incarceration, or illness, or, due to the considered best interests of child welfare, are separated from their children and unable to care for them.

Even the worst parents, on some level, provide food, clothing, shelter, some level of protection, concern for their children’s welfare, modeling of life skills and a sense of belonging. It stands to reason then that the lack of an intact family leaves children vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, violence and neglect.

A Brief History of Orphan Care

As a response to the plagues in the mid-14th century, the first orphanages where formed, primarily by religious institutions, for the care of “foundlings.” Overcrowding and poor hygienic practices within these facilities led to very high mortality rates, approaching 90% or more. The lack of willing and/or able adult caregivers over the years gave rise to multitudes of orphanages in the developing world. Such institutions often contained “large numbers of children living in an artificial setting which effectively detaches them from not only their own immediate and extended family and from their community of origin, but also from meaningful interaction with the community in which the institution is located.”

In the mid 1950s institutionalized care began to encounter criticism. Serious violations of children’s rights were recognized in institutional settings, including systematic physical and sexual abuse, nutritional deficiencies, poor hygiene and lack of health care and education. Institutional care was recognized to significantly and negatively affect a child’s ability to bond and form relationships. The Stockholm declaration of the Second International Conference on Children and Residential Care reported “indisputable evidence that institutional care has negative consequences for both individual children and society at large.” These findings prompted the formation of the Better Care Network in 2003 by several departments from UNICEF, USAID, and Save the Children. In a paper published that year, the Better Care Network called residential orphan care a “last resort,” and emphasized the importance of first seeking and exhausting community based options.

Click here for Part 2: Traditional Orphan Care Options.

Research compiled by Dr. Brad Davidson. Sources available upon request.