Maestral International is a team of leading global experts supporting the development, strengthening and coordination of child protection and social welfare systems that meet the needs of children in adversity. They improve community-based and national systems for preventing and responding to harm and supporting children at risk. They do this in partnership with governments, civil society, multilateral and bilateral agencies, private companies and — most importantly — children and their families.

The firm was founded in September 2008 as an outgrowth of the Children in Families Initiative of the GHR Foundation. In 2009 and 2010, with the support of UNICEF, Maestral developed a Global Toolkit to Map and Assess Child Protection Systems that covers the global child rights regime as reflected in the CRC and other conventions and instruments, policies, data and information, structures, functions and capacities, justice, the continuum of care, finance and budgeting, and downstream programming. This Toolkit has been rolled out in numerous countries and Maestral has developed an associated training package.

Their Work 

Maestral International's target population is children experiencing, or at risk of, abandonment, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Maestral works to facilitate cross-cutting, comprehensive approaches to child welfare that are locally-owned, adequately resourced, sustainable and well-monitored and accountable.

Maestral International's experts work together with stakeholders to:
 

• Identifying national level opportunities to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families by promoting and facilitating policy dialogue and change, providing technical assistance and training to strengthen government capacity to enhance service delivery, and encouraging improved coordination of key governmental, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental agencies and programs;
   
• Map and assess national, regional and local child protection systems, and identify actions and programs required to improve child welfare and protection;
   
• Advance understanding of what works through effective monitoring and evaluation, dissemination of lessons learned, and support to research efforts; and
   
• Participate and facilitate networks of organizations, policymakers, public and private agencies, and regional and global organizations to identify channels for leveraging support to help vulnerable children 

 

Services and Experience

Maestral International aims to respond to the pressing need to turn this situation around, reducing risk and enabling vulnerable children to grow up to become full members of their communities.

Maestral's team of experts has a successful track record in delivering a wide range of products in every region in the world, and their competencies include the ability to:
 

• Map and assess child welfare and protection systems
• Support the design, advocacy, costing and implementation of programs
• Develop strategic approaches
• Support national social service workforce systems
• Monitor and evaluate national and multilateral programs
• Conduct research on key child welfare and protection issues
• Support collaborative initiatives
• Plan and mobilize support for global conferences and seminars
   

Maestral's services include:
 

• Public policy assessments
• Mapping and assessment of child welfare and protection systems
• Situation diagnostics and assessments
• Strategic planning with key agencies and counterparts
• System management and administration reviews
• Program and project design, development and implementation
• Direct technical assistance and training
• Conference and workshop design and implementation
• Research, monitoring and evaluation

Maestral's team members have worked in Asia, Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, Africa and Latin America. Their experience includes working for the World Bank, the United Nations, private and public foundations and other grant-making organizations. Their areas of expertise in the child and family welfare area include: 
 

• Design, advocacy and implementation of programs: early child development, protection of institutionalized children, children with handicaps, children of minorities, and children in conflict with the law; young people's health and development; gender issues; poverty alleviation and integral human development, including education, health, and the fight against global pandemics (HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and influenza); humanitarian assistance, refugee movements, migration, and peace-building; human rights monitoring, promotion and protection through education, training and legal support
   
• Development of strategic approaches which transform pilot projects promoting the well-being of children and families into national systems of child protection addressing key policy areas such as gate-keeping, standards, temporary care, system financing and monitoring
   
• Mapping and assessment of child welfare/protection systems including the development and implementation of a global Toolkit to assist with mapping, assessment, programming and resource mobilization
   
• Design of national systems of social work training, including setting standards and developing evaluation methods: identification, appraisal and negotiation of programs of investment in community social services to help stabilize families and to provide alternatives to residential institutions
   
• Planning and mobilizing support for global conferences and seminars on issues concerning child welfare and protection
   
• Monitoring and evaluating national and multilateral programs in the areas of child welfare, child protection and family preservation
   
• Conducting research into child welfare, the short- and long-term effects of early childhood deprivation on child health and development, the use of intervention programs to ameliorate the negative effects of long-term institutionalization, the effects of an institutional vs. foster care environment on growth and development, and research on transitioning from residential to community based services in Eastern Europe.
   
• Creating collaboratives between governments, non-governmental organizations, multilateral organizations, communities, funders, service providers, evaluators, and technical assistance teams