Forms of Personalness and the Practice of Deinstitutionalisation in the Hungarian Child Protection System

The present study examines the problem of implementing ‘personalness’ (i.e. direct, interpersonal contact in a family-like environment) in the upbringing of children who are not raised or educated within their families in Hungary. The desired outcome of deinstitutionalisation and its implications in the field of children’s rights are examined. The study presents the ways in which Hungarian regulations seek to address this desired outcome; it also discusses some shortcomings and proposes potential improvements to increase the likelihood that children in various forms of state care experience personalness.