Programs

Whole Child International’s programs reflect and advance our vision of improving outcomes for institutionalized children by applying the most advanced knowledge in childcare to orphanages and other under-resourced settings, providing the training needed to help existing orphanage staff meet the basic emotional needs of the children in their care. Currently, in most institutions across the world, these needs are rarely understood let alone addressed.

Pilot Program - Managua, Nicaragua
We are conducting our first full-scale model intervention at El Divino Niño children’s home in Managua, Nicaragua. El Divino Niño, Managua's sole children's home for orphaned, abused, and abandoned children under age six, is home to 96 children and an ideal location for this initial pilot program.

The program’s effectiveness is being evaluated by the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development.The implementation is a collaboration between Whole Child International and two of its partners, WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies, and the University of California, Davis Center for Excellence in Child Development. The government of Nicaragua is participating as an active partner in this intervention.

In August 2006, the University of Pittsburgh team began the process of collecting baseline data to establish the foundation for its independent evaluation. The site intervention began in September, starting with administrative training. Please see our "Notes from the Field" for a brief portrait of our ongoing program in Nicaragua, and check back for updates and results as they become available.

Please check back soon for further updates and results of the evaluation as they become available.

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