This research was undertaken due to persistent gaps in understanding the preventable factors that lead to child–parent separation in alternative care (Chaitkin et al., 2017). Existing studies indicate a lack of reliable data to identify why children enter, or are at risk of entering, such care (Wilke et al., 2022). Moreover, most available evidence comes from high-income countries (Gale 2018; Martin y Zulaika 2016), leaving important contextual differences unexamined. Crucially, the perspectives of children, young people, parents, and primary caregivers remain largely absent from current knowledge. These limitations hinder the development of effective universal and specialized programmes.