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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How can group-based savings programs provide support for vulnerable families and their children?

E. Namey, S. Zissette, W. Okello, D. Onena, L. Laumann - FHI 360, ASPIRES, USAID, AVSI, and ChildFund International, 01 Nov 2018

This poster presents the findings of an assessment of two Family Care projects in Uganda that implemented savings groups as part of integrated family and economic strengthening interventions with families at-risk of a child separating.

Effects of Cash Transfers on Protection and Wellbeing Outcomes for Women and Children: New Evidence from UNICEF Office of Research

UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, CPC Learning Network, The World Bank, The Transfer Project and The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, 24 Oct 2018

This webinar reviews some of the new and ongoing work conducted under the Transfer Project, a multi-organizational research and learning initiative. The first presentation will summarize findings from recent reviews published on understanding linkages and impacts of cash transfers and social safety nets on intimate partner violence and violence against children in low- and middle income settings.

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Supporting the implementation of Council Tax exemption for Scotland’s care leavers: Good practice note

Kenny McGhee - CELCIS, 01 Oct 2018

This practice note is drawn from the discussion and outlines key considerations and a range of measures for local authorities to take as Corporate Parents to ensure consistent and effective implementation of the regulations, now established in law.

Assessment of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty programme in Karaga district, Ghana

Mohammed Sulemana, Bukari Francis Issahaku Malongza and Mohammed Abdulai - Development in Practice, 04 Sep 2018

This article assesses the contribution of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in reducing rural poverty in the Karaga district of Northern Ghana, using a mixed research design to compare the livelihoods of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries.

Can limited-term cash transfers confer (lasting) child protection benefits?

L. Laumann, E. Namey, D. Onena, C. Akech, M. Ndagire, W. Okello, E. Atwiine, W. Wamatsembe, S. Zissette - ASPIRES, 03 Sep 2018

This presentation highlights the preliminary findings from the ASPIRES Family Care Projects as regards the impacts of cash transfers on child protection benefits.

Assessing the effects of a combined economic and social intervention in Uganda on child protection and economic outcomes

E. Namey, S. Zissette, D. Onena, W. Okello, L. Laumann - ASPIRES, 03 Sep 2018

This presentation, delivered at the ISPCAN Conference in September 2018, highlights the preliminary findings from the ASPIRES Family Care Projects as regards the effects of a combined economic and social intervention on child protection and economic outcomes.

Harsh Parenting and Violence Against Children: A Trial with Ultrapoor Families in Francophone West Africa

Leyla Ismayilova & Leyla Karimli - Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology , 15 Aug 2018

This study tests the effects of economic intervention—alone and in combination with a family-focused component—on parenting outcomes and children’s reports of violence in rural Burkina Faso.

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Endline Report: Economic Strengthening to Keep and Reintegrate Children into Families (ESFAM) Project

ChildFund International and FHI 360, 01 Aug 2018

This final report describes the Economic Strengthening to Keep and Reintegrate Children into Families (ESFAM) project and presents findings from an evaluation of the program, including its implementation and outcomes as well as its impacts.

Myth-Busting? Confronting Six Common Perceptions about Unconditional Cash Transfers as a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Africa

Sudhanshu Handa, Silvio Daidone, Amber Peterman, Benjamin Davis, Audrey Pereira, Tia Palermo, and Jennifer Yablonski - The World Bank Research Observer, 01 Aug 2018

This paper summarizes evidence on six perceptions associated with cash transfer programming, using eight rigorous evaluations conducted on large-scale government unconditional cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa under the Transfer Project.

ASPIRES Family Care Process Assessment: Savings Groups for Family-Child Reintegration and Prevention of Separation

Whitney Moret and Mike Ferguson - USAID, FHI 360, and ASPIRES, 01 Jul 2018

This evaluation examined the designs and implementation processes of the saving group components of ChildFund’s Economic Strengthening to Keep and Reintegrate Children in Family Care (ESFAM) and AVSI Foundation’s Family Resilience (FARE) projects in Uganda and identified practical lessons for implementers.