Baby Elephant Orphanage Institution, Kenya

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.
In the worst cases, orphanages can be dangerous and unregulated places where children are subject to abuse and neglect. The Bucharest Early Intervention Programme Highlighted the damage an orphanage can do to a child . In the worst cases, the biological family can also be dangerous to a child.