NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenyan government has announced that children’s homes failing to meet legal and regulatory standards will be shut down as part of ongoing reforms aimed at protecting vulnerable children and addressing the rising issue of child homelessness.
The move comes as the government shifts toward a care model focused on family- and community-based alternatives.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua made the announcement during a handover ceremony at the Ministry’s headquarters in Nairobi, where Caren Ageng’o Achieng’ officially took over as Principal Secretary of the newly established State Department for Children Welfare Services.
The new department, carved out from the State Department for Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs, will focus specifically on children’s welfare and rights.
“We are not closing down children’s homes that are properly established, but the illegal ones will have to go. We do not want them to be used for child trafficking and other illegal activities,” Mutua stated.
He also emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting the work of legally registered Child Welfare Societies across the country.
PS Achieng’, outlining her priorities, pledged to strengthen child protection mechanisms, including enhancing collaboration with the judiciary to expedite the handling of children’s cases in court.
“I will work with the judiciary to ensure that case management is fully rolled out so that we can monitor how children’s cases in courts are being dispensed,” she said.
Achieng’ also highlighted plans to improve infrastructure for children’s welfare across the country, with an emphasis on equipping police stations and counties with dedicated children’s facilities, including rescue centers for minors.
The establishment of the State Department for Children Welfare Services is part of a broader government strategy to address the increasing number of children going missing, many of whom are separated from their parents in crowded public places, abducted, or fleeing abusive homes.
Kennedy Owino, Principal Children Officer at the National Council for Children’s Services, reiterated the government’s commitment, clarifying that the reforms are not about shutting down children’s homes entirely but about transitioning to a more nurturing care model.
“We are transitioning them with the goal of placing children in nurturing family settings that better support emotional development,” he explained.
Owino cautioned against the normalization of institutional care, pointing out that many children could thrive within their extended families if provided with the proper support.
Studies, he noted, indicate that children raised in institutional settings often experience developmental delays and lack consistent, nurturing relationships with caregivers.
The government’s reforms come amidst growing concerns from lawmakers over the rising number of homeless children in Kenya and the state’s strategy to phase out privately owned children’s homes.
Nominated Senator Esther Okenyuri recently urged the government to prioritize the establishment of more shelters and safe spaces for vulnerable children and families before pushing forward with institutional care reforms.
“Has the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection developed and implemented, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, a comprehensive national policy framework for the rehabilitation, reintegration, and empowerment of homeless children and vulnerable mothers?” Okenyuri questioned.
Currently, Kenya has 902 registered children’s homes, housing approximately 45,000 children. Missing children are categorized into four groups: lost and found, runaways, trafficked or abducted, and abandoned.
