An Integrated Quality Framework for Community-Based Programming for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Abstract

Programs for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) typically operate across health, education, economic strengthening, psychosocial support, and
child protection, yet fragmented delivery and output-focused reporting often obscure whether children actually become safer and better supported.
This paper uses thematic synthesis to review the OVC programming evidence base and develops a quality framework built around seven pillars,
safety, family strengthening, case management, continuity, participation, equity, and accountable data use, each judged against quality dimensions
spanning safety, effectiveness, timeliness, and accountability. The framework moves away from orphan status alone as a basis for targeting and
instead proposes individualized assessment within a two-level model pairing community mapping with case-level decision-making. It sets out
a tiered assessment and response model, safeguarding controls suited to volunteer-heavy structures, case-review and closure standards, and a
balanced measurement set spanning structure, process, outcome, and unintended-effect indicators. Community-based organizations remain central
to delivery, but sustaining this shift depends on professional supervision, defined referral authority, manageable caseloads, and reliable links to
statutory services. The contribution is a quality architecture connecting individualized targeting to measurable outcomes without assuming that
tiering alone resolves case-management burden or safeguarding gaps. The framework is offered as a testable governance model, not a validated
solution, and closes by identifying the research needed to show that the shift from status to need improves outcomes for children and families, not
only delivery compliance.