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Our mission

Nearly 23,000 children live in state care in Hungary, with an additional 140,000 minors at risk of being removed from their families. These children often enter the system due to prolonged abuse, severe emotional and physical neglect, sexual harassment, parental addiction, chronic illness, or the loss of a parent. In most cases, these challenges are closely linked to poverty within the family.

These children must work incredibly hard to break free from the hardships their parents endured—state care, poverty, limited education, and a potential life on the streets—while also receiving vital support from benefactors and society as a whole.

The Foundation’s mission is to identify real challenges and, through that understanding, determine the most effective forms of support. Our goal is to provide tangible, impactful assistance not only to the children but also to the adults and professionals working on the front lines. To achieve this, we collaborate with renowned civil organizations to enhance the effectiveness of our programs. We also host roundtable discussions with child protection experts and regularly visit child protection centers and foster homes to gain firsthand insight into the daily lives of disadvantaged children and their caregivers.

Our professional approach is shaped by the understanding that children in state care, due to their circumstances, past traumas, and lack of a stable environment, require extra attention to overcome these challenges.

We rely on research-based insights, targeted support, and understanding, all aimed at empowering these children for future success. To further our mission, the Gattyán Foundation conducted a nationwide survey from 2020 to 2021 to assess the educational and daily needs of children growing up in state care.

This study’s main goal was to raise awareness of the unique needs of children living in foster care and residential homes. Growing up without families presents significant challenges for these children in forming social connections, due to a lack of attachment and role models. Their educational outcomes are often far below national averages, with a greater risk of early school dropout and a significantly higher rate of grade repetition compared to the national norm. As a result, these children often leave the education system with lower qualifications, limiting their job prospects and making it harder for them to build independent futures.

In addition to providing a strong foundation for professional support, the study also aimed to increase public awareness by looking beyond atypical behavioral patterns to uncover the deeper issues these children face. This approach seeks to combat the discrimination that perpetuates social stereotypes. The study is available to the public in both full and summarized versions.

Completed studies:

  • Educational Participation and Future Prospects of Young People Raised in Children’s Homes
  • Research Study, 2020 (full report)