Project: Study of WVC’s Child Protection – Positive Parenting Investments

Limestone conducted cost-benefit analyses (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) of 67 separate implementations of positive parenting across 24 countries between 2019 and 2021. The analysis estimated that World Vision Canada’s investments in positive parenting impacted nearly 150,000 children and will avert approximately 2,800 years of life lost equivalent (calculated using disability-adjusted life years to aggregate mortality and morbidity outcomes). In other words, the programming led to 2,800 extra years of quality life for children of training participants. The improvement in mental health was valued at more than $26 million (USD), yielding approximately $4.36 in social benefits for every $1 invested.

Child protection is a key component of many organizations’ development activities. However, there is little research on how to systematically estimate the costs of child maltreatment or the value of child protection. World Vision Canada engaged Limestone Analytics to develop a methodology to estimate the value of its child-protection activities.

As part of these efforts, Limestone developed new methods for estimating how reductions in abuse and maltreatment map into long-run improvements in mental and physical health.

Limestone applied these methods to estimate the impact of World Vision Canada’s “positive parenting” training and workshops that are part of their “Celebrating Families,” “Families Make the Difference,” and “Parent Support Groups” programs. Such activities provide parents with an understanding of best practices for supporting and disciplining their children, building support networks, and strengthening their relationships with their children in ways that have been shown to reduce physical and mental maltreatment and abuse of children.

The analysis focused on how positive parenting reduced maltreatment of children, resulting in a variety of long-term mental health benefits, including reductions in the lifetime risks of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, suicidal behaviour, and substance/alcohol abuse for the children of positive parenting participants. These impacts lead to improved lifetime mortality and morbidity outcomes for the children. Limestone took particular care when addressing comorbidities, aggregating benefits to ensure that its estimates are conservative and defensible.

World Vision Canada has published the results of this analysis on its website. Selected findings from the analysis are also highlighted in World Vision Canada’s 2023 Annual Results Report.