Baby Elephant Orphanage Institution, Kenya

During the 20th century, conventional wisdom held that orphanages, especially large orphanages, were the worst possible care option for children. . In large institutions, babies may not receive enough eye contact, physical contact, and stimulation to promote proper physical, social or cognitive development.. This is particularly true of infants under three years of age. However, researchers at Duke University have shown that institutional care produces the same health, emotional, intellectual, mental, and physical outcomes as care by relatives, and better than care in the homes of strangers.
Some people maintain that permanent placement in an orphanage is strongly preferable to "permanent temporary foster care", the name for a long string of short stays with different foster care families. Indeed few would disagree that permanent temporary foster care is highly disruptive to the child, and prevents the child from developing a sense of security or belonging. Therefore foster care should focus on longer term placements. Compared to foster care, orphanages are generally the most expensive placement option.
Whereas orphanages are intended to be reasonably permanent placements, group homes are often used for short-term placements.
They may be residential treatment centers, and they frequently specialize in a particular population with psychiatric or behavioral problems, e.g., a group home for children and teens with autism, eating disorders, or substance abuse problems or child soldiers undergoing decommissioning. In reality all placements should be under regular review with the anticipation that once the family has been supported the child may be able to return to it. Placement in the home of a relative maintains and usually improves the child's connection to family members.