ASiA
Armenia 🇦🇲
Organisation: Word of Life Church YEREVAN
🟦 Background: There was no formal foster care taking place in Armenia at this time.
🟨 Their goal: To gain more knowledge of what foster care is.
🟩 Main Services: Advocacy around foster care.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work: Foster Care Advocacy (explaining what foster care is to a group interested in implementing it as an alternative to orphanages, aka children’s homes). SFAC work would have been delivered to about 25 people.
🟩 Outcome: Delivered workshops to over 20 people.
🗝️ Impact: No foster care programme emerged, but now (2025), Armenia is moving towards family care services and foster care.
📅 Years Active: 2007
Cambodia 🇰🇭
Organisation: Chab Dai
🟦 Background: At the time of the workshop, there were no formal family care services in Cambodia.
🟨 Their goal: To promote family care in Cambodia.
🟩 Main Services: Advocacy and awareness workshops about family care.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC provided an awareness raising workshop advocating the benefits of family care and the need for a mix of services for children who cannot live with their families.
This workshop was delivered to over 25 professionals from various NGO’s present.
🟩 Outcome: The workshop was completed and as a result, Children in Families became interested in creating a foster care programme.
🗝️ Impact: see the entry for Children in Families, Cambodia and the development in Cambodia of a network of NGOs promoting family care, many of whom attended that initial workshop.
📅 Years Active: 2007
Organisation: Children in Families (CIF)
🟦 Background: There was no formal foster care services in Cambodia when the project started and CIF learnt of fostering as an option from a workshop delivered by SFAC for Chab Dai (see Chab Dai work) and wanted to create this service.
🟨 Their Goal: To create a foster care programme.
🟩 Main Services:
- Consultancy and training in foster care;
- Review of foster care standards of practice.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC provided training and advice to CIF on how to:
- Recruit, assess, train, monitor and support foster carers as well as match carers and children,
- Review practice.
This project was completed in over 4 visits to Cambodia over 3 years to their staff (around 12), along with consultations via email (before online!)
SFAC also provided a grant to CIF for 3 years to fund social workers to begin the programme. (This is not something SFAC does anymore)
🟨 Outcome: CIF created a foster care programme for emergency care, long-term care, and care for children with disabilities.
🗝️ Impact:
- CIF created the first foster care programme in Cambodia and now advises the government and provides training to other organisations in the country and region.
- CIF’s foster care with children who have disabilities is often shared internationally for its good practice.
- They have had 40 foster care families provide care to children in need each year since 2008.
‘SFAC has been an incredible partner to Children In Families over the years. In our early days when there was no foster care in Cambodia or the region, Mick Pease (SFAC) joined our CIF founders Cathleen Jones and Keo Ravy in the province to train and encourage our first group of foster families. Due to his sharing, even more people in the community got on board with family care, becoming foster parents. SFAC elevated our social workers’ training. He helped them ask good questions to get to the root of needs and gaps for our families and children. Without SFAC’s collaboration with CIF, we would not have worked at the same level of excellence we always strive for.‘
Erin Foley, author of Where They Belong
📅 Years Active: 2007-2015
Read more about our work with CIF Cambodia.
Indonesia 🇮🇩
Organisation: The Salvation Army Indonesia
🟦 Background: TSA Indonesia has over 20 children’s homes and 350 children in their homes. They had minimal information about each child who would remain in the homes until 18 years of age. TSA Indonesia completed their review and determined that they needed to change how they cared for children and promote more children to live with their families in their communities in line with the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) and international research.
🟨 Their goal: To improve their children’s home practice and implement a programme for children to safely return to their families.
🟩 Main Services:
- Advocacy and Awareness work:
- Consultancy and in person and online training on case management in children’s homes and safely returning children to parents or extended family (reunification and kinship care).
- Consultancy and training on case management systems in care planning and reunification and kinship care
- Consultancy on developing alternative services.
- Protective Behaviours training to assist in therapeutic care, preparation and support for children and families who are being reunified.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC delivered three workshops over two years on why children should live at home with their families if it is safe to do so. This looked at the impact of living in a children’s home (the advantages and disadvantages) compared to living with your family, what reasons should a child be separated from family and how we can safely ensure children can go back home and have their needs met. We discussed dilemmas around health care and schooling and how we can make best interest decisions that include these issues alongside other factors such as relationships, rights, choice, culture, identity and much more.
SFAC delivered online and in person workshops, developing the case management system for TSA Indonesia once it was agreed to explore children going home where it was safe.
The consultancy and workshops concentrated on the following over the next three years:
- Creating the process to ‘know the children’ in our care (part of SFAC’s care planning case management system)
- Creating the process to ‘know the children in our care, families and communities’ (part of SFAC’s care planning case management system)
- Creating the process to complete best interest decision making assessments (part of SFAC’s care planning case management system)
- Equipping staff in children’s homes and in the specifically created Safer Pathways Team to complete assessments of family members, and complete the care planning case management system
Following this we supported TSA Indonesia to refine their case management forms and processes and created a ‘practice manual’ to guide current and new staff in what, how, and why of the case management system.
And, now as children return home, we provide ongoing case consultancy, including training staff now in therapeutic care and support for young people and their families, to provide ongoing support and improve the preparation of children and young people to move back home.
Currently, we also provide consultancy on a programme being developed to support young people who cannot go home to live independently in the community and review alternative provision, as we know what number and who cannot return safely to family.
SFAC has trained 6 Safer Pathway staff, 7 members of TSA Indonesia headquarters, and another 45 staff members over the years as well as ongoing consultancy to the Safer Pathway Team and Headquarters staff responsible for the project.
🟩 Outcome: TSA Indonesia agreed to begin a programme to review all the children in their care and determine if they could go home safely. This meant all TSA Indonesia staff members had been included in the workshops and agreed the pathway forward.
Following this, a Safer Pathway Team dedicated to the work was created and now children are being identified to return home. There are now 15 children’s homes with 240 children.
There are agreements not to admit new children into all homes except Matahri Terbit. There is agreement to review how Matahri Terbit can change into a mother and baby support centre, with a further exploration of foster care for under three-year-olds who have been abandoned, alongside other possibilities.
Reviews of the future of the other children’s homes is taking place.
Children are going home, but some are not as it is identified to be unsafe.
All children now have their history recorded, have individualised care plans, have families traced and assessed or are being assessed.
🗝️ Impact: All children have their life experiences being recorded to help provide individualised care, to provide them with knowledge about their history when older and to ensure they can go home.
The organisation can now answer, it knows its children, it knows their families, it knows their communities and it can now plan future services from an informed place.
TSA Indonesia now has clear processes for all staff to follow and provide higher quality care to children.
TSA Indonesia is now embarking on its future planning and reviewing its mission and purpose in caring for and supporting children.
And, they have influenced the government of Indonesia which was so impressed by the care planning case management system that it copied it for other children’s homes to use.
‘For every step we now have forms, processes, understand why we are doing things and how. We still have challenges and learnings. We still make mistakes but we know SFAC is there to guide, help and assist us develop our skills and knowledge.’
–The Salvation Army Indonesia
You can read more of our work with The Salvation Army here.
📅 Years Active: 2019 onwards
Myanmar 🇲🇲
Organisation: Kinnected Myanmar
🟦 Background: Kinnected Myanmar was originally another organisation called Orphan’s Tear, itself part of Heaven’s Family in the USA. Orphan’s Tear was supporting, via Heaven’s Family, several children’s homes, aka orphanages, in Myanmar for many years. However, through a contact asking them to talk to SFAC, they then entered a programme of change.
🟨 Their Goal: Initially to promote why children could be better living at home with their biological family and then how to return children safely to their family.
🟩 Main Services:
- Awareness and advocacy workshops around family care;
- Consultancy on reunification (returning children to parents) and kinship care;
- Consultancy on case management (care planning, reunification and kinship care).
🟦 Summary of SFAC work:
Initially SFAC work was helping the organisations involved to understand that children could develop successfully within their families and communities, that children’s homes/orphanages were not problem or risk free for children, and to review if children could return to their family/communities; or at the very least spend increased time there if they needed to live elsewhere to access education.
After SFAC’s work was successful in changing mindsets, the work moved to supporting the organisation to reunify and assess biological family members, some of whom had not seen the children for many years.
SFAC supported Kinnected Myanmar as it sought to create an effective case management system for ‘knowing the children’, ‘knowing the families’ and ‘knowing the communities’.
🟨 Outcome:
Kinnected Myanmar was created to support children’s homes and orphanages to change and to support children in the community, along with safely reunifying children back home.
Work began, and since 2012, children in Myanmar have been returning home from children’s homes, aka orphanages.
🗝️ Impact:
Since 2015, over 108 children have been reunited with their families and are being supported on an ongoing basis. As a result, 24 children’s homes (aka orphanages) have closed.
‘Without SFAC involvement and sowing the seed, the idea to change from children’s homes and orphanages to family would not have happened meaning thousands of children in Burma will continually suffer in many ways as standards were [are] poor, children are separated from family, community and culture, and people do not understand the disadvantages and impact this can have. We need to refocus supporting in communities...We can do more and we want to do more. We want to do foster care, kinship care and more but that needs resources and opportunity. SFAC’s help gave us the idea and the method. We even have his [Mick’s] book in Burmese!’
Johnny Thawng Hup, Kinnected Myanmar.
📅 Years Active: 2012 – 2019.
Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
Organisation: Children of Tien Shein
🟨 Their Goal: To develop a foster care service.
🟩 Main Services: Advocacy and Awareness about Foster Care.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work: SFAC provided workshops to around 23 people on the benefits of family care and what foster care is, as Tien Shein were looking to bring in a foster care service.
🟨 Outcome: Workshops and discussions held with staff and government representatives.
🗝️ Impact: None known. Tien Shein closed a few years later due to loss of funding.
📅 Years Active: 2007
The Philippines 🇵🇭
Organisation: Redeeming Zoe
🟦 Background: Redeeming Zoe had initially been asked by a large INGO to build a children’s home but they were told by someone they knew to contact SFAC and discuss it first. They did!
🟨 Their Goal: To support Redeeming Zoe in determining what services they would deliver and how.
🟩 Main Services:
- Consultancy on the continuum of services and where they fit in.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work:
SFAC completed a number of online workshops with the leaders of the organisation based in the USA and the Philippines. Through these workshops, we discussed the continuum of services, their strengths and resources, what they felt able to do with their experience and skills and they decided on a community based prevention programme.
We also trained their leaders in protective behaviours to help support their work with young people at risk of sexual harm and exploitation.
The work was delivered to 3 staff members.
🟨 Outcome: Redeeming Zoe built a community programme around preventing sexual abuse and exploitation through activities and an education based prevention and self-care programme.
🗝️ Impact:
Children’s home was not created, which would have been high risk within an organisation that lacked experience and resources to manage a specialist centre. Instead, a preventative programme that is culturally relevant has been created and delivered.
The ‘Protective Behaviours approach and training provided by Caitlin at SFAC, has significantly impacted and increased the safety of children we work with. We are now focused on creating a culture of safety in communities for both children and adults, not just responding to issues.’
–Becca, Redeeming Zoe
‘One of the most helpful lessons from the Protective Behaviours training was the concepts around feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and especially the early warning signs of danger, to be incredibly practical, especially those around trauma-informed care. Other trainings and advice around child protection and safeguarding have also been valuable in shaping how we interact with the community. They’ve helped us structure our prevention approach in a more holistic and empowering way.’
-Ivy, Redeeming Zoe.
You can read more about our work with Redeeming Zoe in an Independent Report we commissioned for SFAC’s 20th anniversary in 2022. The information on SFAC’s work with Redeeming Zoe begins on page 14.
📅 Years Active: 2015 – 2021
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
Organisation: Help Kids
🟨 Their Goal:
- To move from an orphanage, aka children’s home to community programmes and safely return children to their families.
- To raise awareness within the government of the advantages of family care.
- To support the government in reviewing its foster care legislation.
🟩 Main Services:
- Advocacy and Awareness Work:
- Consultancy work on foster care with the government.
- Consultancy work on assessments for children returning to their families
- Protective Behaviours.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work:
SFAC delivered several workshops to Help Kids and to NGOs that Help Kids knew were interested in moving away from the orphanage/children’s home model to family care. The workshops centred on the advantages/disadvantages of children’s homes, what the alternatives were and how they could be safely implemented.
SFAC then supported Help Kids themselves safely move several children home over a number of years and support Help Kids work with other NGOs to do similar, including with a group of nuns in northern Sri Lanka. In addition, we provided consultancy to the Sri Lankan government on foster care.
SFAC delivered workshops to over 300 Sri Lankan government staff, 15 nuns, 3 Help Kids staff and around 15 other NGO staff over a 2 year period, plus consultancy to two Sri Lankan government staff on foster care.
In 2025, Help Kids completed the protective behaviours training to improve their work supporting families in the community in their early years family support projects.
🟨 Outcome:
- Help Kids moved to a community programme and, over eight years, closed their children’s home following the advice of going slow and only reunifying where it is safe to do so. They helped over 25 children return back to families or be supported into independent living. Similarly, with the nuns, they helped them reunify over 35 children back to family safely.
- The government created a draft foster care legislation that is awaiting approval.
- And, over 300 Sri Lankan government officials received awareness training, with feedback stating that over 65% would consider moving a child to family care if the options existed.
- Help Kids have had therapeutic training to support their family strengthening work with families with young children.
🗝️ Impact:
- Help Kids closed their orphanage/children’s home safely.
- Nuns closed their orphanage/children’s home safely.
- More government officials were made aware of family care, with a majority saying it would impact their thinking and decision making in practice.
- Enhancements to their early years programmes.
📅 Years Active: 2014 – 2025
Thailand 🇹🇭
Organisation: Global Child Advocates (GCA)
🟨 Their Goal: To move to family care work and close their children’s home, aka orphanage.
🟩 Main Services: Awareness and advocacy work; consultation in the reunification of children with families.
🟦 Summary of SFAC work:
Over two years, SFAC provided in person workshops to GCA staff on why family care is preferable to only providing children’s homes and orphanages, what alternative programmes existed, and how children could be returned to family safely.
🟨 Outcome: SFAC supported GCA to deliver change in their programmes and they gradually closed their children’s homes and moved to community programming and supporting other organisations to do similar.
🗝️ Impact: GCA now delivers a range of family and community preventative support programmes.
‘Sometimes wanting to do the right thing isn’t quite enough…you just need to bring in an expert. You know what we mean, the person who can come in and make quick sense of the confusion and competing information and confidently recommend a clear path forward. Thats SFAC. Their training compared to others stands out. It is practical, passionate, and relatable – they get it! Its also very helpful! It is also scalable as we have used it with other organisations. The ripple effect of SFAC is one I now know is huge in Thailand, Myanmar and elsewhere. They are the best! And, why I commissioned SFAC to deliver some recorded training for GCA to use with others.’
–Ashlee Heiligman, GCA.
You can read more about our work in Thailand with GCA here.