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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Meeting the Costs of Family Care: Household Economic Strengthening to Prevent Children’s Separation and Support Reintegration - A Resource Guide

Lisa Laumann and Emily Namey, FHI 360, 01 Sep 2019

This resource guide aims to assist program designers, funders, and implementers to select and incorporate appropriate and effective household economic strengthening (HES) measures into programs to preserve or reestablish family care for children.

Let’s Raise Children in Families Programme Case Study: Divine

National Commission for Children, UNICEF, USAID, 01 Aug 2019

This case study profiles the reintegration experiences of one child who has participated in the Tubarerere Mu Muryango (Let’s Raise Children in Families - TMM) programme in Rwanda.

Let’s Raise Children in Families Programme Case Study: Thierry

National Commission for Children, UNICEF, USAID, 01 Aug 2019

This case study profiles the reintegration experiences of one child who has participated in the Tubarerere Mu Muryango (Let’s Raise Children in Families - TMM) programme in Rwanda.

Factors Influencing Performance of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programmes in Kenya: A Case of Unbound Project in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Doreen Nkirote & Dr. Mercy M. Mugambi - International Academic Journal of Information Sciences and Project Management, 31 Jul 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing performance of orphans and vulnerable children Programmes in Kenya focusing on unbound project in TharakaNithi County, Kenya.

Factors influencing utilization of cash transferred to orphans and vulnerable children in Runyenjes Constituency, Embu County, Kenya

Martin Kaborio & Stephen Luketero - International Academic Journal of Information Sciences and Project Management, 18 Jul 2019

The sole purpose of the study was to determine the factors influencing utilization of cash transferred to orphans and vulnerable children in Runyenjes Subcounty, Embu County. The study concluded that demographic characteristics had the greatest effect on the utilization of cash transferred to orphans and vulnerable children, followed by frequency of cash transferred then attitude of beneficiaries while home factors had the least effect to the utilization of cash transferred to orphans and vulnerable children.

Keeping Families Together by Supporting Education

Alternative Care Thailand, 13 Jun 2019

In this video, One Sky Foundation share some of their work in Thailand supporting children from disadvantaged families to stay in education.

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Scaling Up Housing Services Within the Child Welfare System: Policy Insights From Simulation Modeling

Patrick J. Fowler, Katherine E. Marcal, Saras Chung, Derek S. Brown, Melissa Jonson-Reid, Peter S. Hovmand - Child Maltreatment, 16 May 2019

The present study uses system dynamics modeling to inform decision-making by testing policies for scaling the Family Unification Program (FUP), a U.S. federal initiative connecting inadequately housed families involved in child welfare with long-term rental subsidies to avoid foster placement.

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Technology Influence on Performance of Cash Transfer Programmes in the Public Sector in Nairobi County, Kenya

Beth Njoroge, Peter Kihara, Paul Gichohi - International Journal of Professional Practice , 04 May 2019

The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between technology as a capacity building strategy and performance of the orphans and vulnerable children cash transfer program in Nairobi County, Kenya.

The Costs and Potential Savings of Supportive Housing for Child Welfare–Involved Families

Josh Leopold & Amanda Gold - Urban Institute, 01 May 2019

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families funded Partnerships to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Supportive Housing for Families in the Child Welfare System, a five-year, $25 million demonstration that provided supportive housing to families in the child welfare system, in five sites. This report summarizes the results of the cost study, which estimates the costs of the housing and services offered in the demonstration and any savings, or additional costs, resulting from the demonstration’s effects on families’ use of homeless programs and child welfare services.

Does Supportive Housing Keep Families Together? Supportive Housing for Child Welfare Families Research Partnership

Michael Pergamit, Mary Cunningham, Devlin Hanson, Alexandra Stanczyk - The Urban Institute, 01 May 2019

This report provides findings from the Urban Institute's impact analysis of a program that provided supportive housing to families in the child welfare system in the US.