The Australian Centre for Child Protection in Adelaide was commissioned by the Child and Family Welfare Association South Australia (CAFWA-SA) to review the published literature related to the effectiveness and appropriateness of residential care for young children placed into Out of Home Care. In determining the scope of this review, the decision was made to focus on the available evidence about the extent to which residential care, as opposed to other potential placement options is able to respond appropriately to children’s developmental needs.  The focus on this review is on the developmental needs of children under the age of 10 years who are placed in Out of Home Care.

Where applicable, recommendations and implications for optimising care of young children placed in residential care are included.  The review addresses three main questions:

• What do we know about the use and effectiveness of residential care?
• What do we know about the needs of young children entering residential care?
• What characteristics of residential care best meet the needs of young children?