The following papers are the resulting literature from the U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care held in December, 2011 in Washington D.C., which have been published in the Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal. The Summit brought together more than 150 of the world's leading advocates for children to examine the strength of the research evidence on existing programs and interventions, and most importantly to identify critical knowledge gaps and areas where more research is needed so that systems and programs designed to improve the overall health and well-being of these vulnerable children may be strengthened.
Protecting children outside of family care in low and middle income countries: What does the evidence say?
Valerie Maholmes, John D. Fluke, Richard D. Rinehart, and Gillian Huebner. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect. The International Journal, 36, 685-688.
This article reviews the Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care held in December, 2011 in Washington D.C. and provides an introduction to the review papers.
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30004&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
Evidence acquisition and evaluation for a U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care Elizabeth S. Higgs, Vera M. Zlidar, and Robert L. Balster. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect. The International Journal, 36, 689-700.
This article provides a detailed discussion of the multistep literature review process that identified the published and gray literature used by the focal question teams to draft their papers and the genesis of the Evidence Summit.
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30005&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
Systems and strategies for identifying and enumerating children outside of family care
Thomas Pullum, Claudia Cappa, James Orlando, Meredith Dank, Susan Gunn, Maury Mendenhall, and Kate Riordan. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal, 36, 701-711.
This paper reviews the most relevant sampling methods for identifying and enumerating children outside of family care and assessing their living conditions. It also highlights the methodological and practical challenges of doing so.
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30015&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
What are the most effective early response strategies and interventions to assess and address the immediate needs of children outside of family care?
Neil Boothby, Mike Wessells, John Williamson, Gillian Huebner, Kelly Canter, Eduardo Garcia Rolland, Vesna Kutlesic, Farah Bader, Lena Diaw, Maya Levine, Anita Malley, Kathleen Michels, Sonali Patel, Tanya Rsa, Fred Ssewamala, and Vicki Walker. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect. The International Journal, 36, 711-721.
This paper focuses on early response strategies and interventions for improving the outcomes of children outside of family care, including children of and on the street, institutionalized children, trafficked, children affected by conflict and disaster, and those who are exploited for their labor (Boothby, Wessells, et al., 2012).
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30006&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
Systems, strategies, and intervention for sustainable long-term care and protection of children with a history of living outside of family care
John D. Fluke, Phillip S. Goldman, Janet Shriberg, Susan D. Hillis, Katherine Yun, Susannah Allison, and Enid Light. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect. The International Journal, 36, 722-731.
Building on the review of initial early intervention, this paper examines the available evidence regarding the efficacy, effectiveness, ethics, and sustainability of approaches to strengthen systems to care for and protect children living outside family care in low- and middle-income countries (Fluke et al., 2012).
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30007&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
What strategies are appropriate for monitoring children outside of family care and evaluating the impact of the programs intended to serve them?
Alastair Ager, Cathy Zimmerman, Kathy Unlu, Richard Rinehart, Beverly Nyberg, Charles Zeanah, Jean Hunleth, Ida Bastiaens, Andre Weldy, Gretchen Bachman, Alexander B. Blum, and Kathleen Strottman. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal. 36, 732-742.
This paper provides a compelling discussion of the ways in which to strengthen the evidence-base for policy and practice for support of children outside of family care (Ager et al., 2012).
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30012&themeID=1001&topicID=1010
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
Coordinated and evidence-based policy and practice for protecting children outside of family care
Neil Boothby, Robert L. Balster, Philip Goldman, Michael G. Wessells, Charles H. Zeanah, Gillian Huebner, and James Garbarino. (2012). Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal. 36, 743-751.
This final paper synthesizes the information presented by the review articles and makes a case for a more coordinated, evidence-based strategy to address the needs of children who are abandoned, abused, or severely neglected in low- and middle income countries.
To access the abstract and link to the paper, please visit:
http://bettercarenetwork.org/BCN/details.asp?id=30013&themeID=1001&topicID=1009
Alternatively, contact the Better Care Network at bcn.submit@gmail.com to receive the full paper.
