Supporting Countries to Measure Progress and Outcomes of National Care Reforms: Development of Care System Reform Logic Model and Indicator Mapping Activity

The model is informed by the system perspective and draws heavily on existing guidance and literature on care reform. It aims to provide a shared conceptual and measurement framework to enable decision makers to accurately track progress and performance in strengthening national care systems. The model consists of several components, including governance, financing, social service workforce, public awareness and advocacy, service delivery mechanisms, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and information systems. These components are interconnected and work together to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring that all children grow up in safe, nurturing, and stable environments. The model identifies several key outputs, including services across the continuum of care, policies, legislation, and regulations, fiscal management and resource allocation, evidence and data for decision making, communication, advocacy, and social mobilization initiatives, and an adequate and skilled workforce. These outputs are expected to lead to several intermediate outcomes, including the prevention of unnecessary family separation, children without parental care being appropriately placed in family and community-based alternative care or adoption, and safe and sustainable reintegration of separated children. The model also identifies several outcomes, including strengthened families and empowered children, robust case management and gatekeeping processes, and appropriate and inclusive community and family-based alternative care services. These outcomes are expected to lead to the ultimate impact of ensuring that all children grow up in safe, nurturing, and stable environments. The D4I team has worked closely with key stakeholders, including representatives from USAID, UNICEF, the Better Care Network, and the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance, to develop and refine the logic model. The model has been presented to and revised based on feedback from the Evidence for Impact Working Group, which brings together researchers, measurement experts, and practitioners working on establishing data systems on children's care. The Care System Reform Logic Model is expected to inform efforts to measure the progress and outcomes of reforming care systems. It provides a framework for countries to track their progress and identify areas for improvement, ultimately leading to better outcomes for children and families. The model is also expected to be used to identify gaps in existing indicators and data sources, and to collectively identify areas for further research and development. This will enable countries to strengthen their care systems and ensure that all children have access to safe, nurturing, and stable environments. The development of the Care System Reform Logic Model is a critical step towards improving the lives of vulnerable children around the world. By providing a shared conceptual and measurement framework, the model will enable countries to track their progress and identify areas for improvement, ultimately leading to better outcomes for children and families. The model is expected to be used in conjunction with existing measurement frameworks and tools, and will be refined and updated as new evidence and research become available. This will ensure that the model remains relevant and effective in guiding the measurement of progress and outcomes of national care reforms. In addition to the Care System Reform Logic Model, the D4I project has also developed a set of indicators that are mapped to the model. These indicators are expected to provide a comprehensive picture of the progress and outcomes of care system reforms, and will be used to track progress and identify areas for improvement. The indicators are organized by system component, and include measures of governance, financing, social service workforce, public awareness and advocacy, service delivery mechanisms, and M&E and information systems. These indicators will be used to track progress and identify areas for improvement, and will be refined and updated as new evidence and research become available. Overall, the Care System Reform Logic Model and the associated indicators provide a critical framework for countries to track their progress and identify areas for improvement in strengthening their care systems. By providing a shared conceptual and measurement framework, the model will enable countries to ensure that all children have access to safe, nurturing, and stable environments.