Decision Making Among Community-Based Volunteers Working in Vulnerable Children Programs: Child Status Index Usage Assessment Phase 2


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Author(s): Cannon M, Snyder E

Year: 2013

Decision Making Among Community-Based Volunteers Working in Vulnerable Children Programs: Child Status Index Usage Assessment Phase 2 Abstract:

In 2009, MEASURE Evaluation published the Child Status Index (CSI), a tool designed to be implemented periodically by low-literate community caregivers to capture children’s status across the six domains of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programming for children who are orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Based on anecdotal reports of widespread use, MEASURE Evaluation conducted the CSI usage assessment in 2011-2012 to understand how large programs were using CSI to meet a range of information needs. Findings from that study, along with other studies previously conducted regarding CSI, have been useful, but did not get the perspective of community-based caregivers. This study was designed to complement the first study and others by collecting data from caregivers who work directly with vulnerable children to explore how care decisions are made by community-based volunteers, and the utility of CSI at the community level as a job aid. Seventy-nine caregivers participated in 12 focus groups in urban and rural settings in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. In addition, nine representatives from community-based committees were interviewed.