Highly Vulnerable Children Research Center
The HVC-RC develops materials for use by program implementers, including evidence-informed structured curricula, M&E guidance, case studies, and resource guides.
We have worked with numerous organizations to enhance program curricula by formalizing session structure and content, ensuring an appropriate theoretical basis for the intended outcomes, and incorporating evidence-based programming principles. We have also been directly involved in developing a family centered curriculum for adolescent HIV prevention among vulnerable adolescents in South Africa (Let’s Talk).
Let’s Talk is a 10‐week structured support group for adolescents aged 12‐19 years and their caregivers. The curriculum was developed through a collaborative effort between researchers at Tulane University’s Highly Vulnerable Children Research Center and the University of Pretoria in South Africa, with financial support from USAID Southern Africa and PEPFAR. It is designed to address key issues facing adolescents affected by HIV and AIDS, including elevated risk for poor psychological health, sexual risk behavior and HIV infection. These efforts are accentuated by parallel support for caregivers, addressing their individual challenges and working to build skills for effective emotional coping and parenting.
The Abangane Grief Support program is an eight-session structured peer group for bereaved female adolescents aged 13-19 years. The curriculum originated from a resource manual for implementing support groups with grieving children developed by the South African non-governmental organization Khululeka Grief Support. It was further adapted and standardized through a collaborative effort between Tulane University’s Highly Vulnerable Children Research Center, Child Welfare Bloemfontein and Childline Free State, and Khululeka Grief Support, with financial support from USAID Southern Africa and PEPFAR. Abangane Grief Support is an evidence-based program which has been found to mitigate psychological distress among female adolescents who have experienced the loss of someone important in their lives. Through group sessions, Abangane helps adolescents to understand grief, develops their emotional coping skills, and builds their competence in seeking support and planning for their futures.
A research brief on the Abangane Grief Support program is accessible here.
The Abangane Grief Support curriculum is freely available for use with written permission from Khululeka Grief Support, the HVC-RC or USAID Southern Africa (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License).
The program curriculum is accessible here.
If you would like to implement this program, please contact Khululeka Grief Support at admin@khululeka..org for technical guidance to ensure that the program is implemented with fidelity to the model and within the intended terms of use. Khululeka offers training to supervisors, facilitators and organizations to implement the Abangane curriculum and retains the sole right as trainers in support of its implementation.
Programs serving OVC are increasingly called upon to measure not only how many children or families they reach, but also changes in the health and wellbeing of the beneficiary population. This guidance document introduces a set of basic outcome indicators recommended for use by program partners working in South Africa, including calculation and measurement details. Indicators are cross-referenced with related recommendations at the international level.
Click on the link below to read or download a pdf of the Baseline Indicators.
A case study is considered an in-depth examination of a specific program model or service approach that culminates in a descriptive report. Some case studies focus on the various HVC activities of a selected organization; others examine one key intervention in detail. Still others explore how different organizations provide a common service, such as early childhood development interventions. By documenting program practices and synthesizing lessons learned, case studies can be used to improve programming and promote awareness and replication of promising practices.
Click on the link to read or download pdfs of case studies
Case studies often rely on document review, key informant interviews and focus groups. We have created a series of easy-to-use resource guides aimed at helping programs to create their own case studies and effectively apply these qualitative research techniques in the process.
In 2013, USAID-SA requested FHI 360 through the Umbrella Grants Project to conduct an assessment of curricula used by programs in South Africa to train youth on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy prevention. More specifically, USAID was interested in assessing whether the curricula are: 1) comprehensive and technically accurate; 2) relying on appropriate training methodology; 2) supporting clear health goals such as prevention of STI’s, HIV infection, and pregnancy; 3) facilitating behaviour change; and 4) based on evidence and have had some effects (including how these effects were being measured). This report discusses the findings, including strengths and weaknesses of the available training materials, identifies gaps, and provides some recommendations for improvement. It also includes a curricula inventory with detailed information for all main curricula assessment criteria (Appendix 1). A summary of these findings is also available below.