Orphaned children were consigned to institutions.是什么意思？

Orphaned children were consigned to institutions.

孤儿都打发到了福利院。

orphaned

[计][修]孤立；

例句
Jones was orphaned at the age of ten, and taken in by next-door neighbours...
琼斯10岁时成为孤儿，被隔壁的邻居收养。

children

n. 孩子们(child的复数)，儿童，膝下，孥；

例句
Their permissiveness toward their children reflects the wild abandon of their own lives.
他们对孩子的放任折射出他们自身生活的放浪形骸。

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

consigned

v. 把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )，把…托付给，把…托人代售，丟弃；

例句
For decades, many of Malevich's works were consigned to the basements of Soviet museums...
马列维奇的很多作品在苏联博物馆的地下室里堆了几十年。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

institutions

n. （大学、银行等规模大的）机构( institution的名词复数 )，建立，慈善机构，知名人士；

例句
Scientific institutions have been reluctant to take corrective action...
科学机构一直不愿作出更正。