Caregiver Skills Capacity

Learners - Policy Lever

Essence

This lever measures the availability and quality of programs that aim to build caregiver capacity—for example, programs that incentivize parents to provide their children with health checkups and vaccines, and programs that teach parents better parenting practices.

Indicator

A score ranging from 1 to 5, calculated based on 2 de jure questions and 2 external de facto data components. Responses to the 2 questions are scored according to a rubric that considers the factors associated good programs to build caregiver capacity in terms of parenting skills. Two scores are reported: one for de jure policy existence and one for de facto policy implementation.

Background

This policy lever relates to support systems available to build caregiver capacity. There are two main types of support programs to build caregiver capacity: 1) those aiming to build their financial capacity to care for their children, and 2) those that aim to build their parenting skills. Both are important, and in many instances, they are offered in parallel. Programs that build caregivers’ capacity to support early childhood stimulation and healthy development can substantially improve children’s outcomes. Examples of such programs include home visits, school sessions, and school-based groups. These types of interventions have been found to have positive effects on both parental practices and children’s development in low- and middle-income countries (Alderman 2011; Putcha & van der Gaag 2015; Cardenas, Evans, and Holland 2017; Yousafzai et al. 2016; Saima et al. 2014; World Bank 2016a; Barry et al. 2017)

Existing Data Source
Policy Survey
School Survey

Instrument Used for Measurement

  • Survey of Public Officials
  • Existing Data Source
  • Policy Survey
  • School Survey

Measurement Approach

This indicator is made up of two factors – 2 de jure questions included in the Policy Survey that inquire about the availability of support programs to build the skills of the caregiver, and two de facto components that serve as de facto proxies of those skills. The questions are: 

(de jure) Does the government offer programs that aim to share good parenting practices with caregivers?

(de jure) Are any of the following publicly-supported delivery channels used to reach families in order to promote early childhood stimulation? Home visits, Group sessions, Community health programs, Health center waiting rooms, School-based groups, Mass media/Information campaigns

(de facto) Percentage of children under age 5 who have three or more children’s books

(de facto) Percentage of children age 24-59 months engaged in four or more activities to provide early stimulation and responsive care in the last 3 days with any adult in the household

Instrument Sources

System Approach for Better Education Results – Early Childhood Education (SABER-ECE)

Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)