This paper is the result of a field study conducted by Catalysts for Social Action (CSA) on the outcomes of restoration of 29 ‘Children in Need of Care and Protection’ (CNCP) who were residing in Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in Madhya Pradesh. The study was conducted in the year 2018-19 to analyse the process which was followed, to look into the followup and support provided after the child was restored with the family, to gather information on the situation of the child, and find out the effect of deinstitutionalisation on various growth and development parameters of the children. The core argument of this paper is that while every child has a right to grow up with his / her family and the Government’s efforts towards restoration of institutionalised children with their family is a step in the right direction, undertaking the exercise without diligently following due process, without ascertaining whether the risk due to which the child was institutionalised has been mitigated, without ensuring that the family is supported to care for the child, and without periodic monitoring of the effect of restoration on the child, can lead to adverse outcomes for the child, contrary to the envisaged objective of restoration. This argument is supported by findings of the study, which reveals gaps in the system and indicates a degree of non-compliance with critical steps of the process. As a result, most of the children restored with their family were found to be living in detrimental circumstances. This leads to the question as to whether the deinstitutionalisation or restoration of children with family indeed proved to be in the best interest of the child, as it has been envisaged to be. In its conclusion, the paper recommends actions for policymakers and for the implementers drawing from finding of the study and CSA’s experience of working with stakeholders in the child protection system.