When is a home not a home? When it is a children's home... an institution. The word is a misnomer. Over the last few decades research in several countries has consistently shown that life in an institution - however good the "home" may be - has deleterious effects on the physical, psychological and social development of children. It just cannot replace the one-to-one attachment and care-giving essential for healthy growth that is naturally present in a family home.

For lack of other services, children's homes in Malta, mainly run by the Church, have over many years been an irreplaceable refuge for youngsters who have been orphaned or abandoned, who have been victims of neglect or abuse by their parents, or whose parents have been unable to care for them due to reasons ranging from illness to imprisonment.

But many countries in the West have gradually moved away from that model of care towards a system that seeks, first of all, to help families in difficulty look after their children adequately and, secondly, to find substitute families if this is not possible.

Malta appears to be somewhat behind the curve. The island's institutions are residence to roughly 250 children when, on a per capita basis, it should be closer to 50. In countries that have made the most progress, institutionalisation is a last resort used only in emergency situations.

It is not surprising then, that Joe Gerada, the CEO of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, recently called for the law to make it easier for children of "failed parents" to be put up for adoption instead of being condemned to living in an institution for years on end.

It appears that many parents put up strong resistance to the idea of their children becoming the "property" of another family, even if they themselves might only visit twice a year, on birthdays and Christmas. It is an understandable sentiment but not an excusable one. As things stand they have to be fought in a court of law and this fact alone makes it extremely difficult to place semi-abandoned children with more loving, adoptive parents.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Malta, makes it very clear that the child should grow up in a family environment and that the state should intervene if necessary to ensure that this takes place. There must surely be many childless couples out there who would be only too glad to adopt a boy or girl even if not an infant.

There has been a drive to increase fostering, which is seen as preferable to resorting to adoption. Although there has been some success, the financial burden on the foster parents is heavy and more funding needs to be made available to assist those who undergo the necessary training and sacrifice and to increase their numbers. It is a selfless, even heroic act, to dedicate oneself and one's resources to another's child.

Mr Gerada's call should be taken as a cue by the government to start looking towards serious de-institutionalisation. Admittedly, this is a delicate and lengthy process. It would entail changes in policies and laws aimed at greatly reducing the reliance on residential care and boosting services that support care for children in a family setting - which is where they're meant to be.

It is time children's homes are no longer irreplaceable.