This past February, leaders, advocates, and experts from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Rising Tides Conference on Transition. The event was a resounding success, bringing together key stakeholders committed to transforming global care systems for orphans and vulnerable children. With a sharp focus on transitioning orphanages to family care, the conference reinforced the urgent need for sustainable, child-centered solutions that prioritize the well-being and future of every child.

The discussions at the conference focused on how to grow the global movement away from institutional care and toward family solutions. Research overwhelmingly shows that children thrive best in families, where they receive the emotional support, stability, and individualized care necessary for healthy development. The Rising Tides Conference provided a platform for sharing best practices, innovative models, and policy strategies to facilitate this critical transition, and move the needle in transition as a critical piece of care reform for children globally.

One of the key takeaways from the conference was the necessity of a collaborative approach, but also the need for better coordination between various stakeholders and systems. Government agencies, NGOs, faith-based organizations, and child welfare experts must work together to ensure that transitioning from orphanages to family care is both effective and sustainable. "Deep dive" and "fishbowl" discussion enabled thought leaders from around the globe to identify tools and practices that are working, lay out the real challenges facing transition and care reform, and brainstorm next steps and solutions to broaden the impact of transition as a component of care reform.

A significant focus of the event was the role of funding in driving care reform. Many orphanages exist not because they are the best option for children but because financial structures have historically supported institutional care. The conference emphasized the importance of redirecting resources toward family-strengthening programs, social services, and community-based support to prevent family separation and ensure that vulnerable children can remain in a safe, loving environment.

The transition from orphanages to family care is not just a policy issue—it is a moral imperative. The Rising Tides Conference reinforced that keeping children in institutions should be a last resort, not the norm. By investing in transition efforts, we can break the cycle of institutionalization and give children the opportunity to grow up in families that nurture their potential and safeguard their rights.
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As the momentum from the Rising Tides Conference continues to build, it is imperative that governments, donors, and child welfare organizations commit to sustained action. The success of this conference is only the beginning—now is the time to turn knowledge into action, ensuring that every child, no matter where they are in the world, has the opportunity to grow up in a loving family.

Conflict doesn’t just destroy buildings and infrastructure—it tears apart families, displaces communities, and leaves children frighteningly vulnerable to exploitation. In places like Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine, where political instability and war have upended daily life, a devastating pattern is emerging: children separated from their families at alarming rates, and traffickers are just waiting take advantage.

This is the hidden crisis beneath the headlines—and it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.

Whenever conflict strikes, families are the first casualties, and children are at the center of the suffering. Children can become separated from their families in the chaos of war.  Children in orphanages, already without the protection of family, can become further separated as they are removed to other locations, paperwork and any other trace that might lead them back to family lost.   Aid organizations often sweep in, seeing children alone, and pull children into orphanages in an effort to provide care without knowing the harm of institutionalizing children.

Once separated, children become incredibly vulnerable to all forms of exploitation: trafficking, forced labor, early marriage, and illegal adoption. Some end up in orphanages that are not only poorly regulated, but in many cases, profit-driven—part of a growing crisis known as orphanage trafficking.

These children are not orphans, and even those who may be probably still have family who could care for them.  All children need the love, protection and care of family. These children are victims of conflict and systems that fail to protect families.

What’s Happening in Haiti, Palestine, and Ukraine

• Haiti is in a humanitarian freefall. Armed gangs now control large swaths of the country, driving thousands from their homes. Families are fragmented by violence and desperation, and children are increasingly recruited by gangs or placed in orphanages—many of which are unlicensed and exploitative. In fact, 80% of children in Haitian orphanages have living parents, but poverty and instability push families toward separation.
• Palestine, particularly in Gaza, has seen generations of children displaced and orphaned by war. The current escalation has left thousands of children separated from caregivers or living in overcrowded shelters with no safe supervision. Trafficking risks spike when formal child protection systems collapse under the weight of bombardment and humanitarian blockades.
• Ukraine, more than two years into a brutal war, has seen over 16,000 children forcibly deported or separated, according to international observers. There are unofficial reports that this number could be as high as 200,000, and to date, only 1,300 Ukrainian children have been returned to Ukraine.  Thousands more live in displacement camps or institutions. As the war drags on, these children are at risk of being trafficked across borders, especially as systems struggle to track their movement and reunite families.  There are reports that many of these children already have been 'reprogrammed' and adopted into Russian families.  They may never be reunited with their biological families.  They have lost their families, their culture, and their country - all rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

What Can We Do?

1. Prioritize Family-Based Care: Orphanages should be a last resort. Organizations and governments must invest in keeping children with safe family members or placing them in family-style foster care. The data is clear—children thrive in families, not institutions.
2. Support Reunification Efforts: International aid must include robust systems to identify, trace, and reunite children with their families after separation. It’s not enough to provide food and shelter—children need connection and care.
3. Fund Local Child Protection: Grassroots organizations and local social workers are often the first to respond and the most trusted by communities. Supporting them is one of the fastest ways to protect children from traffickers.
4. Advocate for Policy Reform: We must pressure governments and international agencies to uphold protections against child trafficking and end the pipeline of funding that enables orphanage tourism and exploitative child migration practices.  We know that conflict leads to the separation of children from families - we must be prepared to respond swiftly to reunite children and families as soon as safely possible, without resorting to institutionalization.
5. Stay Informed and Speak Out: Silence sustains the status quo. Share stories, support ethical aid organizations, and refuse to look away.

Conflict may seem inevitable, but the separation and exploitation of children is not. It is a choice we make—by what we fund, what we ignore, and how we respond.

At Helping Children Worldwide and through partnerships across the globe, we are working to strengthen families, protect children, and support the local systems that make reunification and healing possible. But we can’t do it alone.  Together, we can make sure that even in the chaos of war, children are not forgotten—and families are not broken beyond repair.

At Helping Children Worldwide (HCW), we believe that data is more than just numbers—it’s a powerful tool for learning, improving, and making a greater impact. Together with our allies, we are increasingly focusing on evaluating our work’s effectiveness and sharing our findings with the broader child welfare community.

In September 2024, CRC Case Management Supervisor George Kulanda, Dr. Laura Horvath, and Dr. Sarah Neville Jimenez presented the results of a small but insightful research project at the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) Summit in Nashville, where over 1,000 attendees participated both virtually and in person (Yasmine Vaughan presented this same research at the ICAR8 conference). This research, led by Dr. Neville Jimenez, examined the impact of the CRC’s Firmly Rooted Family Strengthening Workshop on caregivers and their relationships with their children. Building on this momentum, Dr. Neville Jimenez recently presented a poster on the research at Brown University’s Department of Psychiatry and Human Development. 

The study used a pre-and-post survey methodology to compare caregivers who attended the workshop with those who did not. The workshop’s interactive, play-based curriculum focused on basic household economic literacy and attachment-building techniques. Results showed that after the workshop, caregivers reported more instances of comforting their children and increased occurrences of parents and children apologizing to each other. However, no statistically significant changes were detected in financial habits or other attachment markers—likely because such behaviors take time to develop and may require longer-term measurement. The study also suggested that separating financial literacy and attachment-building into distinct workshops would allow participants to absorb and apply each concept more effectively.

At HCW, we embrace the philosophy that "data is just data"—neither good nor bad, but a tool that helps us refine our work. Through ongoing data collection and analysis, we gain deeper insight into how our programs truly affect the people we serve. This research has already led HCW and CRC to revise the curriculum to enhance its effectiveness for CRC clients.
Sharing our findings is just as important as conducting research. Opportunities like the CAFO Summit, ICAR8 and the Brown University presentation allow us to contribute to the global child welfare knowledge base.

By openly sharing what we learn, we help drive positive change, ensuring that vulnerable children and families receive the best possible support.
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As we move forward, we remain committed to research-driven solutions that make a tangible difference. Thank you for being part of this journey with us.