Combating Exploitive Child Labor through Education in Central America
U.S. Department of Labor (2004–2009)

DevTech works with CARE USA to implement the U.S. Department of Labor-funded project, Primero Aprendo, in Latin American and the Caribbean region. The project is aimed at improving access to quality education as a means to combat exploitive child labor in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Project staff works with governments, NGOs, and parents to enforce children’s rights to education. Under this cooperative agreement, DevTech provides assistance in policy reform and awareness raising and monitoring and evaluation.

Policy Reform & Advocacy

DevTech is leading the effort to increase the awareness of national institutional actors within the region and promote their participation in the Primero Aprendo project. DevTech is also promoting national and local advocacy efforts for policy reform by:

  • Training NGOs, parents, and other local actors on policy advocacy, and
  • Facilitating workshops for key policy-makers on enforcement issues related to eradicating child labor

 

Monitoring and Evaluation

DevTech staff operates the performance monitoring and program evaluation system for Primero Aprendo. DevTech is responsible for:

  • Designing and implementing the grant project’s Performance Monitoring Plan including developing a project logical framework, identifying and defining key performance indicators, and conducting surveys to determine baseline measures for those indicators and for establishing benchmark and target values against which to track progress in achieving grant activity results, purpose and goals.
  • Training and supporting participating local country partners in conducting periodic field surveys to gather data that measure public awareness, policy reforms, and changes in the working and education status of child beneficiaries.
  • Establishing and maintaining a computerized database in MSAccess and MSExcel software for warehousing indicator data in formats that permit easy updating and data entry.
  • Conducting periodic analysis of performance data to measure progress toward grant targets, to identify areas requiring increased management attention and to report overall grant performance to grant sponsors.
  • Identifying and scoping out special evaluation studies that will contribute to more effective future assistance program design and implementation.

For more information, please visit the project website, www.primeroaprendo.org.

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