Abstract
The study investigated institutionalization and rehabilitation of street children
in Benue State. A Cross Sectional research design was used to conduct the
study. Data was collected using two sets of questionnaires for staff and
orphans, (Rehabilitation Staff Questionnaire, RSQ and Rehabilitation Orphan
Questionnaire, RIQ). Two hypotheses were formulated and analyzed using
mean and standard deviation. Finding show causative factors like
poverty,(3.20),Abandonment(3.10), death of parents ( 2.20), divorce and
remarriage (2.17) being responsible for street children and rehabilitation of
children. Findings also showed a number of problems in these institutions to
include late feeding (3.18), harsh punishment (3.03), in fighting amongst the
orphans (2.95)) and liaise – faire attitude of the workers, (2.97).On the state of
infrastructure and facilities, result shows that storage facilities and access road
network represents 3.74 and 2.58 respectively, while, the environment and
water recorded 2.28 and 2.20 respectively. On the programs for rehabilitation,
all ten (10) programs scored below the acceptable mean of 2.00, which means
performance was below expectations or these programs were minimally being
carried out. Based on the findings, it was concluded that institutions for
children rescued out of the street will continue to serve as alternative care
centers for children, though, there are inherent problems that require
interventions from the government, staff training and the involvement of
NGOS and CBOS.