Household Economic Strengthening

Poverty is a leading cause of child separation. Families may be torn apart by the stresses of trying to provide for their basic needs, and children may be abandoned or exploited for financial purposes. Household economic strengthening aims to reduce a family’s vulnerability to poverty, increase economic independence, and improve people’s ability to provide for their children.

Economic strengthening alone will not prevent separation or protect children, and should form part of a comprehensive support package, including psychosocial work, community mobilisation, education, health, and family support. Household economic strengthening should also complement the wider government social assistance programmes, welfare sector initiatives, and child care policies. Beneficiaries should include those families which are destitute, poor, or vulnerable to poverty, including child headed households.

Economic empowerment is not possible without the active participation of the community in ensuring that those most in need are identified and that families are willing to commit to projects. Any initiative must have sustainability at its core; there must be a market demand for products and services, and activities should build on the existing strengths and resources of the community.

Household economic strengthening includes activities which help a family restore, improve and maintain their income, and build savings and assets. Projects may consist of relief assistance, grants and loans for income generating activities, technical and skills training, registered credit and savings associations, and legal advice on inheritance and property rights. Ideally such guidance and resources should come from specialised local organisations that can facilitate market research, identify those in need and the type of assistance required, and provide sustainable long-term support to beneficiaries.

The literature contained in this section offers recommendations and examples of household economic strengthening projects which support the protection of children.

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Discussion Paper: Cash Transfers and HIV Prevention

Brian Lutz and Roy Small - United Nations Development Programme, 01 Oct 2014

This paper from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers some recommendations on optimizing cash transfers in order to have the greatest impact on those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Family Economic Strengthening and Parenting Stress Among Caregivers of AIDS-Orphaned Children: Results from a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial in Uganda

Proscovia Nabunya, Fred M. Ssewamala, Vilma Ilic - Children and Youth Services Review, 01 Aug 2014

This study examines the impact of a family economic strengthening intervention on parenting stress among caregivers of AIDS-orphaned children in Uganda.

Protection, Care, and Support for an AIDS-Free Generation: A Call to Action for All Children

UNICEF, PEPFAR, UNAIDS, USAID, The World Bank, The Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS, 19 Jul 2014

This call to action is for all who are committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation.

Why Care Matters: The importance of adequate care for children and society

Family For Every Child, Corinna Csaky, 01 May 2014

This report highlights the needs of children without adequate family care, the impact inadequate care on children and society, and why family care is important. In this report, Family for Every Child also issues several recommendations for those in all sectors of society and an example of care reform from Brazil.

Education for Orphans in Africa: Predictors Impacting School Attendance

Chanel Nagaishi and Jini L. Roby, 18 Apr 2014

This powerful chart illustrates preliminary research findings using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in 5 African countries (Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda and Zimbabwe) to better understand how orphan status affects the school attendance of children in Africa and the extent to which living in kinship care can act as a protective factor in this context.

Doha Call to Action

Doha International Family Institution – International Conference , 17 Apr 2014

This is a Call to Action issued by the Doha International Family Institute commemorating the International Year of the Family.

Helping Parents, Helping Children: Two-Generation Mechanisms

Future of Children Volume 24 Number 1 Spring 2014 - Princeton-Brookings, 01 Apr 2014

This issue of the US-based journal Future of Children, entitled ‘Helping Parents, Helping Children: Two-Generation Mechanisms,’ reviews intervention programs for children and families of low socioeconomic status and on the mechanisms of child development that those intervention programs are trying to influence.

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Researching the Linkages Between Social Protection and Children’s Care in Rwanda: The VUP and Its Effects on Child Wellbeing, Care, and Family Reunification

Keetie Roelen & Helen Shelmerdine from the Centre for Social Protection (CSP) with support from Emily Delap from Family for Every Child and Stephen Devereux from the CSP at IDS. , 01 Apr 2014

This report features the results of, and recommendations based on, a study conducted in Rwanda which investigates the links between the cash transfer program “Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP),” child well-being, and children’s care and family reunification.

Perceived food and labor equity and school attendance among Ugandan children living in kin care

Roby, J., Shaw, S., & High-George, L., 01 Apr 2014

For this study conducted in and near Kampala, Uganda, 518 youth (8 to 18 years old) and their caregivers were interviewed individually, examining the association between relatedness and perceived food and work equity, and school attendance.

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Literature Review: Best Practices in Transitioning Youth Out of Care –Successful Transitions, Success as Adults

LeeAnne Dewar, Deborah Goodman - Child Welfare Institute, Children’s Aid Society of Toronto , 30 Mar 2014

This literature review examines literature on the best practices for youth aging out of care that indicate successful outcomes for them as adults.