Evaluation report for Brazil's at-risk youth program, in Recife, Fortaleza, and Salvador

Interim evaluation covers the period 9/94-11/96. Partners of the Americas is implementing the project. Implementation has suffered from a serious lack of systematic selection criteria for subgrants and a lack of indicators for monitoring performance. This, together with delays in awarding the first subgrants, has made it nearly impossible to demonstrate a concrete impact on the lives of children and adolescent beneficiaries. Partners of the Americas was very slow in acknowledging the project's serious implementation problems and in replacing the project director and modifying the project's administrative structure. USAID/Brazil was forced to assume a much more active role in project management than normal, but had to do so if the project was to continue. Despite these problems, POMMAR's distinctive characteristics -- its focus on institutional strengthening and in coalition building -- are giving it a greater impact than its limited funds would imply. POMMAR has also collaborated effectively with other entities, and NGOs and governmental organizations alike have repeatedly cited POMMAR's importance in uniting diverse entities in a more coordinated approach to the complex problems of at-risk children and adolescents. In addition, subgrant recipients, even those receiving only a very small part of their budget from POMMAR, repeatedly cited the supported interventions as strategically important for their institutions. The four original programmatic areas remain appropriate. Health activities, the only significant addition proposed in the 9/96 extension, are a welcome addition and should, where possible, include family planning, AIDS prevention, and access to services. Since health activities should be held to the same standards of impact and sustainability as other activities, it would be unwise to pay salaries directly with project funds. Instead, the team recommends stimulating collaboration between subgrant recipients and existing health programs. Vocational training projects have the greatest potential to demonstrate direct impact and sustainability. Yet almost no systematic efforts have been made in the area of job placement (on-the-job training) and collaboration with the private sector. POMMAR should consider taking advantage of the local Partners network, as well as service organizations such as Rotary and Lions Clubs, to stimulate these activities. Family preservation has been a problematic area. Although POMMAR has been instrumental in placing family issues on the national agenda, it has not funded successful projects in this area. Future efforts should support existing projects that incorporate work with families for the benefit of children and adolescents, but POMMAR should continue its policy of not supporting projects aimed at individual family therapy. Projects for street girls face especially complex challenges. POMMAR has played a key role in stimulating national debate on sexual exploitation, abuse, and violence and has supported important projects in these areas. Many preventive projects for at-risk girls are in operation, several with POMMAR support, and are demonstrating effectiveness. The issues surrounding girls involved in prostitution are more difficult, and successful projects are rare. POMMAR should focus on supporting projects for these girls, even at a relatively high cost. Projects aimed at affecting public policy face the greatest difficulties in demonstrating direct impact. Nonetheless, POMMAR has been instrumental in getting more than 1,000 out-of-school children into public school. POMMAR should expand its roles in representing and disseminating the lessons learned from these projects. POMMAR's decision to avoid defending individual juvenile offenders was wise; this responsibility is best left to the public sector. POMMAR should instead seek out projects in which adolescents participate as advocates for their own rights. Also, projects with broad community support and consensus, such as the right to public school, are more likely to achieve earlier results than those concentrating on more complex issues, such as adoption.