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.

Displaying 91 - 100 of 277

Browse Other Topics

Promoting Early Childhood Development Through Combining Cash Transfer and Parenting Programs

Ana-Maria Arriagada, Jonathan Perry, Laura Rawlings, Julieta Trias, and Melissa Zumaeta - World Bank Group, 2018

This note and the accompanying full technical paper examine the existing evidence and the potential for bringing together cash transfer programs and parenting interventions to improve child development outcomes, notably cognitive performance.

Catalyzing Business Skills

Making Cents International, 2018

Catalyzing Business Skills is a suite of three financial literacy and business skills curricula developed by Making Cents International and Child Fund's Economic Strengthening to Keep and Reintegrate Children into Families (ESFAM) project in Uganda.

Childonomics Introduction to the conceptual framework and methodology

Childonomics project - Eurochild, 31 Oct 2017

The Childonomics project has developed an instrument that can help to reflect on the long-term social and economic return of investing in children and families.

Global Report 2017: Ending Violence in Childhood

Know Violence in Childhood , 26 Sep 2017

The report compiles information from a series of global research papers commissioned by Know Violence, presenting the scale and scope of childhood violence globally. Examples of preventative efforts from governments, communities, and organizations are provided to illustrate the feasibility of preventing violence on local and national levels.

Case Study on Improving HIV Testing and Services for Children Orphaned or made Vulnerable by HIV (OVC): Approaches of the Yekokeb Berhan Program for Highly Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia

Francesca Stuer & Kate Greenaway - 4Children/CRS, 25 Aug 2017

In this case study, Coordinating Comprehensive Care of Children (4Children) documents and evaluates the work of Pact's Yekokeb Berhan Program for Highly Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia.

Catawba County Child Wellbeing Project

Kyle McCarthy, Christina Triplett, Heather Ball and Sarah A. Morrison - Catawba County Social Services & Center for the Study of Social Policy , 01 Aug 2017

This report is a case study of the Child Wellbeing Project, which sought to address the reduction of services to families post-care compared to available in-care services to prevent foster care re-entry, ensure permanence, and improve long-term outcomes for children.

How to Make ‘Cash Plus’ Work: Linking Cash Transfers to Services and Sectors

Keetie Roelen; Stephen Devereux; Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai; Bruno Martorano; Tia Palermo; Luigi Peter Ragno - UNICEF Office of Research, 01 Aug 2017

This paper aims to identify key factors for successful implementation of increasingly popular ‘cash plus’ programmes, based on (i) a review of the emerging evidence base of ‘cash plus’ interventions and (ii) an examination of three case studies, namely, Chile Solidario in Chile, IN-SCT in Ethiopia and LEAP in Ghana.

Supportive housing program for homeless families: Foster care outcomes and best practices

Sonja Lenz-Rashid - Children and Youth Services Review, 17 Jul 2017

This study observes foster care re-entry for young people whose families participated in Cottage Housing Incorporated's Serna Village Program (CHI), a supportive housing program serving homeless families in Sacramento, California.

View Article

2017 Home Visiting Yearbook

James Bell Associates with the Urban Institute - National Home Visiting Resource Center, 01 Jul 2017

The 2017 Home Visiting Yearbook presents, for the first time, the most comprehensive picture available of home visiting on the national and state levels, revealing the breadth of home visiting in the United States and identifying the gaps in practice.

Building a User-Friendly and Government-Owned Case Management System for Highly Vulnerable Children: The Yekokeb Berhan Program Experience in Ethiopia

Kelley Bunkers & Suzanne Andrews - 4Children/CRS, 01 Jun 2017

This case study describes the coordinated care and case management system for highly vulnerable children and their caregivers implemented by the Yekokeb Berhan program in Ethiopia.