ASPIRES Family Care Summary Research Report

This report discusses the findings of quantitative and qualitative research into how economic strengthening (ES) interventions can help prevent unnecessary separation of children from families as well as support the reintegration into family care of children who were already separated. The ASPIRES Family Care project sought to assess how to match specific kinds of economic strengthening activities to the capacities, limitations, and context of particular households, with the aim of supporting the development of technical guidance to inform future programming. Through Family Care, ASPIRES supported two learning projects in Uganda: the Family Resilience (FARE) project, implemented by AVSI Foundation, and Economic Strengthening to Keep and Reintegrate Children in Family Care (ESFAM) project, implemented by ChildFund. Both projects were intended to reach economically and socially vulnerable families at risk of separation (prevention families) and those whose previously separated children were returning to family care (reintegrating families). The Family Care projects were based on the theory that a combination of case management, family social support and household economic and livelihood strengthening would stabilize highly vulnerable households, facilitating the return of separated children to family care or preventing children’s separation from their families. Research into these projects yielded insights into drivers of separation; outcomes in economic wellbeing, family wellbeing, and child protection; and examples of child-level effects of economic and family strengthening programming.