Child Development as Cornerstone for All Development

In December 2012, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other government interagency partners released the U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity toward achieving “a world in which all children grow up within protective family care and free from deprivation, exploitation, and danger.” The action plan provides a framework on international assistance for children in adversity and is the first coordinated, whole-of-government policy strategy grounded in evidence that child development is a cornerstone for all development.

The Action Plan is based upon three principle objectives: 1) Build Strong Beginnings, 2) Put Family Care First, and 3) Protect Children.  Three supporting objectives include: 1) Strengthen child welfare and protection systems, 2) Promote evidence-based policies and programs, and 3) Integrate this plan within U.S. Government departments and agencies.

United States partners working with USAID include the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, and State, and the Peace Corps. Development of the action plan began in 2011 and was informed by a U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care.  This interagency initiative began as a requirement of U.S. Public Law 109-95: The Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005.

For More Information:

Press Release: United States Releases New Action Plan for Children in Adversity

U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity

Public Law 109-95: The Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005.