Often it is assumed that all children living in orphanages are orphans. However a closer study of children found in orphanage

Orphanage

An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...

s divides children into two categories: true orphans and social orphans. A true orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

 is a child with no parents or extended family

Extended family

The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...

 to care for them. Social orphans come from families where the child cannot be cared for because of incarceration

Incarceration

Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...

, extreme poverty

Extreme poverty

Extreme poverty, as defined in 1996 by Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, is:"The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become...

, physical abuse

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...

, and abandonment

Abandonment

The term abandonment has a multitude of uses, legal and extra-legal. This "signpost article" provides a guide to the various legal and quasi-legal uses of the word and includes links to articles that deal with each of the distinct concepts at greater length...

.

The convention on the rights of the child

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children...

 has brought many countries to reassess their mandate to care for children inside their borders thus bringing to light various new ways of thinking about international child care.

Populations

In a study of Honduras it was found that 54.3% of children commonly identified as “orphans” were actually social orphans.

Cause of Social Orphaning	Percentage of Orphans actually Social Orphans in Honduras
Street situation	19.3%
Unemployment Unemployment Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...	11.5%
Maternal / Paternal Irresponsibility	7.4%
Extreme Poverty Extreme poverty Extreme poverty, as defined in 1996 by Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ATD Fourth World, is:"The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling individuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become...	5.5%
Physical Abuse	5.9%
Disabilities / Handicap	4.7%