Young people’s experiences of support, belonging, and freedom before and after leaving residential care institutions in Kenya

In Kenya, estimates suggest almost 60,000 children live in residential care institutions, also called orphanages and Charitable Children’s Institutions (CCIs). The Government of Kenya has undertaken reform efforts and aims to reunify children in residential care with families where possible. This study aimed to explore how young people in Kenya who have lived in residential care describe and conceptualize their experiences of life in residential care and life after leaving residential care. The study used qualitative data from focus group discussions with children ages 11 to 17 who had been reunified with family after living in residential care (n = 41) and with young adults who exited residential care during young adulthood (n = 29). The themes that emerged from the analysis fell under five themes: material resources, information and guidance, belonging, emotional support, and freedom. Young people tended to have better access to material resources in residential care than afterwards, but had both positive and negative experiences with emotional support and guidance in both settings. After leaving residential care, young people valued being able to be close to their families and having more personal agency and freedom, though some believed that increased freedom came at the cost of reduced safety. These results indicate the importance of family strengthening and individualized case management for children reunifying with families after leaving residential care.