Always Emily

What is Transition? A Beginner’s Guide
Blog originally published with 1MILLIONHOME, March 7, 2025

Transition is the process of an orphanage, children’s home, or Children’s Charitable Institution (CCI) becoming (or transitioning) to a community- and family-based care system.

Essentially, these organizations change their services from housing children long-term in residential care, to reunifying children with their families. 

In countries like Kenya, where the government has ruled family-based care is essential and mandated, this means an official change in an organization’s operating license from a CCI to a Child Welfare Program (CWP) license. 

However, even in the cases of government mandates, organizations are given time to make this transition safely and effectively.

At 1MILLIONHOME and WezaCare Solutions, our heart is to help these organizations through the transition process for the best outcomes possible for the organization, families, communities, and children. 

Long-Term Journey

This change does not happen overnight. 

It is not as simple as closing the doors to orphanages and sending children home. The result of such a swift change could have negative consequences for everyone involved: families, staff, the community, and, most of all, the children. 

On average, safe and effective transition can take up to two years to fully implement.

This long-term journey allows an organization to think through their current programs, new programs dedicated to reunifying children to families, and even programs that will serve the community. 

An Institution’s Role in Family-Based Care

The beauty of this transition is that organizations are not being asked to shut their doors entirely: they get to reimagine what they can do for and with the community. 

This transition from institutional approaches to family and community approaches allows for organizations to have a bigger impact and provide better care for vulnerable children. 

This includes establishing child welfare, family strengthening, and community development programs.

We have worked with organizations that have:

• Helped mothers start small businesses
• Transitioned into being an education center
• Helped families to start farming on their land
• Helped communities start table banking and microfinance to support one another
• Set up counseling centers or peer support groups
• Set up skills and vocational training for young people

And so many more creative, unique solutions to problems their own communities and families face. 

What often is scary about transition is the idea that the organization will have to close, leaving children vulnerable, and staff without jobs. 

Yet, with a proper transition, these organizations aren’t losing their impact, but increasing it. 

How Does an Organization Transition?

How can organizations move through this process safely and effectively? That’s where WezaCare Solutions comes in. 

WezaCare Solutions, a subsidiary of 1MILLIONHOME based in Kenya, is the pioneer of the Transition Roadmap, an inclusive transition toolkit. WezaCare Consultants lead the organizations through this Roadmap walking with them step-by-step as they embark on this 18-24 month journey. 

The Transition Roadmap consists of three phases:
Phase 1: Learning and Decision Making
Phase 2: Preparing for Transition
Phase 3: Implementing the Transition

This process can be a challenging road, but leaders don’t have to walk it alone. With the help of the Roadmap and WezaCare consultants, when they arrive at their destination they’ll be surprised how far their impact can truly go under this new model of care. 

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the Transition Roadmap on a journey of discovering this new global shift in child welfare!