Orphanage

An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home devoted to the care of orphans and of children who, for various reasons such as parental death, absence, abuse, substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or a parent simply unwilling to care for the child, cannot be cared for by their biological families. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries since the later twentieth century, though they continue to operate in many other regions, and it is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to children's emotional wellbeing, so government support goes increasingly toward supporting the family unit instead.