Evidence Summit: Protecting Children Outside of Family Care

December 12-13, 2011
Pavilion II, Ronald Reagan Building
U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, DC

Evidence Pre-Summit
October 24-25, 2011
Lawton Chiles International House
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Children in the most dire straits are those outside of family care – those living on the streets or in institutions, trafficked, participating in armed groups, or exploited for their labor. Children in such circumstances often experience abuse, neglect, lack of stimulation, and extreme and toxic stress – all of which have a profoundly negative impact on a child’s development and adult outcomes

Recognizing that all governments need evidence to inform efficacious, effective, and sustainable policies, strategies, and programs to care for vulnerable children, the U.S. Government is convening an Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care on December 12–13, 2011, in Washington, DC. The Summit will bring together leading researchers as well as technical experts to assess the evidence to inform policies, strategies, and programs relevant to protecting children outside of family care in lower- and middle-income countries, and to identify evidence gaps to shape the future research agenda.

The Summit is an interagency initiative under Public Law 109-95, the Assistance to Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005. The Summit responds to the PL 109-95 mandate to ensure U.S. Government foreign assistance to highly vulnerable children in lower- and middle-income countries is effective and based on evidence.

Expected outcomes from the Summit include 1) clarity on evidence to inform policies, strategies, and programs relevant to protecting children outside of family care and 2) identification of evidence gaps to shape the U.S. Government research agenda. The Summit will lead to the establishment of guiding principles for U.S. Government foreign assistance to children outside of family care. An evidence-to-action strategy will be developed following the Summit to ensure application of the principles, implement evidence-based best practices, and address critical knowledge gaps in U.S. Government-funded initiatives.

For more information, visit http://www.hvcassistance.org/summit.cfm.

In addition, remote access to the Summit via webinar is a possibility, though space is limited.  The webinar will include live stream presentations and plenaries and interactive Q&A sessions.  If interested, contact James Orlando at jorlando@usaid.gov.