It is said that there are 4 children nationwide who cannot live with their parents, and about 5% of the children live in facilities.On the other hand, in other countries, especially for infants, foster parent care is the main focus. In Japan, the Child Welfare Act was amended in 8 to prioritize family care, and in 2016, the idea was realized. The "New Social Nurturing Vision" was announced, which shows the process for the purpose.However, there is a lack of research and evidence that directs practices and measures in social upbringing in Japan, and the need for them has been pointed out.

　In April 2020, Waseda University established the "Social Education Research Institute," the first research institute in Japan that specializes in the field of social education.In this joint project with The Nippon Foundation, we will carry out three main activities with the major purpose of realizing a social child-rearing system that guarantees the best interests for all children.

1. Conduct research and research necessary for the transition to home care and accumulate the necessary evidence
2. Implemented a model project in collaboration with local governments aiming to promote family care.In addition, follow the progress after the intervention, evaluate what kind of effect it actually had on the child, and verify the results.
3. Translate or develop foster parent assessments, training programs, textbooks on attachment formation, etc., and introduce them to local governments and private institutions.At the same time, we carry out evaluation research on effect measurement.

　In addition to the above, we will work on building a network of related parties, developing human resources, listening to the opinions of children, giving advice on research institute projects, and calling for dissemination and collaboration to related parties / organizations and society as a whole.

Reference: [Waseda University] Institute for Social Education