Children Need Families: Connecting Deinstitutionalization Research to Practice and Policy

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

Decades of research suggest that children need families to thrive, but millions of children live separated from parental care, often in institutions. Without the love, nurture, and protection of a healthy family, these children are vulnerable to a host of developmental and child protection challenges. Long-term, children in institutional care become adults with elevated risk of poorer mental and physical health, more judicial involvement, lower resilience and life satisfaction, and are more likely to be separated from their biological children. Institutionalization is a public health crisis affecting children, families, and communities, and it needs to be central to the global policy agenda. Yet, along with many other issues related to children, it rarely receives adequate attention. How can research influence practice and policy to better support caring for children in ways that align with evidence? This session will focus on needs and opportunities for utilizing findings to influence practice and policy, including through government advocacy, program transition, and capacity building. [Moderator: Dr. Mandy Howard; Panelists: Dr. Dana Johnson, Dr. Marinus van IJzendoorn, Dr. Nicole Wilke]

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Moderator

• Amanda Howard, Samford University

Panelists

• Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, University College London (UCL)

• Dana Ernest Johnson, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Nicole Wilke, CAFO