Children in Institutions

The study examines the evolving and diverging challenges for the well-being of children after two decades of transition in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The report is based on information from administrative and survey sources to identify critical economic and social trends and assess the impact of policies on children in the period immediately preceding the current crisis. It analyses the changes in the economic and demographic context in which children are growing up as well as at trends of public social expenditure that influence public policies that affect children.

Year 2009 of the implementation of Childhood without Abuse Project in Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia and Ukraine was devoted to the issue of abuse of children in different types of institutions. As a base for planning this year's activities and analyzing possible solutions to the problem, partner organizations prepared short documents on the situation of children in institution in their country.

Sexual abuse suffered by children in residential institutions is still largely unrecognised problem in East European countries. With an aim to plan research and prevention initiatives organisations participating in the Childhood without Abuse Project prepared situational analyses concerning this issue. The reviews focus mainly on statistical data and research observations available, legal regulations and good practices identified in each country.

As improving situation of children one of the priorities of OECD, the organization has issued a publication analyzing different aspects of child-well being in the world today. Issues referred to include extent and timing of governmental expenditure on that purpose, social and family policies that have impact on children, influence of persistent inequality and marginalization on children.