Assessing Boa Vista s Família que Acolhe program for early childhood

Abstract

This study describes an impact assessment of Boa Vista’s early childhood program Família Que Acolhe (FQA). A 2020 survey of 402 children, four to six years of age, was undertaken based on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s Proyecto Regional de Indicadores de Desarrollo Infantil (PRIDI) framework. The average treatment effects across eight indicators were estimated using multivariate matching. Treatment groups were assigned based on official participation levels of mothers in the Program’s activities and confronted with control groups of similar but non-participating families. Results show increases in participation led to improved scores across several indicators. FQA children scored higher in vocabulary extension, language usage, motor skills and height-for-age indicators, more prolonged breastfeeding, and higher treatment rates for underlying medical conditions. Cognitive skills of FQA children of the cohort studied scored below their counterparts. Social-emotional skills did not track well with other indicators, with unreliable results.