Early Institutionalization Intervention Impact Project

Upon entry into the Child Protection System, if the child is assigned to one of the districts participating in the RCT, the court will notify the study team. Children that have been randomly assigned to Foster Care will be placed in a foster home within 48 hours of referral to the Family Court/Child Protection System. Children and Foster Parents will receive biweekly visits from Social Workers. Children and Foster parents will also participate in the caregiving intervention described below. Children will remain in the placement until such time as the social workers, psychologists and Family Court Judge determine that one of the following outcomes is appropriate: reunification with biological family or adoption.

During AVI an intervenor meets with a caregiver (foster parent or caregiver at the institution) and child in the home environment. During each session, the intervenor videotapes the caregiver and child doing play-based activities. During that meeting, the intervenor reviews the videos with the caregiver and provides positive, constructive feedback to the caregiver. AVI is aimed at increasing sensitivity in parents/caregivers in order to encourage positive interactions. The guiding principles are to create a positive environment and to convey that the caregiver is the expert on their own child. The AVI methodology was selected to be used as a method of caregiving intervention with the study participants due to its demonstrated results in its use with children in contexts of social vulnerability, as well as families included in the child protection system. This will be the first time that AVI is being used in foster and institutional care in Brazil.