Sri Lanka is set to overhaul the terminology used for facilities caring for vulnerable children, with terms such as ‘probationary homes’, ‘children’s homes’ and ‘orphanages’ to be replaced with more positively framed names, it is learnt.

The Women and Child Affairs Ministry is reviewing how child-care facilities are operated in other countries before introducing the new approach, a Ministry media official told The Daily Morning.

“We expect to remove the word ‘probationary houses’ completely. A new name will be introduced in its place. The new name has been decided, but has not yet been made public. The subject Minister has also directed the Ministry to study how such facilities are maintained globally, right down to the paint used on the walls,” she said.

However, she added that the term “probation and child care service” would continue to be used for administrative purposes, as it is an established technical term.

The Ministry has already begun pilot projects to put some of the ideas into practice, she said. One such project involves renovating a former child development centre under the Clean Sri Lanka programme and turning it into a model facility.

The rebranding effort is part of a broader societal shift in recent years, in which stigmatising labels associated with disability, poverty and other vulnerabilities have increasingly been replaced with more inclusive language aimed at promoting dignity and reducing discrimination against affected communities.