[dogbyte12]

What would be easier for a case worker to regulate? 100 foster homes on his case load, or one orphanage with 100 kids? Hell the guy could just camp there every day.

I think that for those kids who aren't adopted, an orphanage might be a better option if it is well run. Kids in foster homes get lost in the system.

[CobaltBlue]

I was in Catholic boarding school for a year while my parents were engaged in a knock-down, drag-out custody battle. I was miserable away from my family but looking back it was an oasis of sanity and structure.

Later I "gave back" by acting as a weekend "counsellor" (like camp counsellor) at a Catholic group home for pregnant teens.

Institutional care depends on the institution. The Catholic church worked for me.

[Mamzelle]

Orphanages have some attractive advantages--it'd be easier for a community and churches to organize volunteer help for a central institution. Also, it'd be easier for that community to observe how the children are treated. The main problem would likely be the children who abuse other children.