The purpose of this paper is to suggest the value of tracking population-based outcomes for children as a key component of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of a national child protection system. It begins with a discussion of how the frequently used approaches of project based evaluation and case based monitoring are limited in regard to evaluating the effectiveness of wider child protection systems. Having shown the value of a public health approach, it then considers what is most appropriate to track at a population level. It concludes with a call for governments to use this approach in strengthening and monitoring the effectiveness of national child protection systems.
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