Child Institutionalisation is the practice by State authorities and welfare services of relying on institutions of various types for the long-term sheltering and housing of children who for any reason find themselves removed from their families. Institutionalisation is considered by experts to be detrimental to the healthy development of children, and is often accompanied by secondary abuse that takes place within institutions. There is widespread agreement among experts that States which rely on institutions for child protection, such as Greece, should move towards deinstitutionalisation.