Frequently Asked Questions
What is ‘Family-Based Care’?
Family-Based Care focuses on programs that protect families in crisis, restores vulnerable children to family, and strengthens communities through economic empowerment and education.
Family-based care does not mean “family-like” care, short term residential care, or international adoption. We work toward family permanence through reintegration, fostering, and local adoption.
How do you define ‘family’?
Family means any form of safe, loving, and permanent care. Family is not always defined as a two-parent household but rather can be made up of one parent or an aunt, an uncle, a grandparent, or a loving permanent caregiver. Institutional care of any form cannot substitute for a family.
What programming does my donation support?
Please find examples of our comprehensive and locally designed programming here.
A list of programmatic needs and opportunities to give can be found here.
What is the Graduation Approach?
Our response guides families from crisis to sustainability through emergency food relief and economic empowerment, in a proven model called the Graduation Approach. By strengthening families, we can preserve important bonds between a parent and child and protect them both from the trauma of disruption. This is called ‘Family Preservation and Empowerment,’ or FPEP.
For more information about the Graduation Approach, please consult this study by BRAC.
Why is the use of institutional care problematic?
The damages of long-term institutionalization for children are clear. Negative physical, emotional, and social outcomes are clearly attributed to institutional care, particularly in the case of long term stays.
For more in-depth information, please refer to this study by the Faith to Action Initiative.
Does ACE facilitate international adoptions?
No. We work in coordination with local governments to support and empower parents and families in their communities through local adoption. Before any adoption occurs, all potential reintegration options with biological family are exhausted.
Where does ACE operate?
We are regionally headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia and Lilongwe, Malawi. We also support our local headquarters via small operational teams in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through ACE Transition Partners, we provide consultation to institutions transitioning to family-based care, regionally and globally.
Is ACE a faith-based organization? If so, how does that affect your services and programs?
Yes, but all of our services and programs are available to individuals of any faith or background. We express our faith through service and action for people in need. Anyone can access our services regardless of differences in faith or background. We ensure that faith is not a barrier to receiving services or other programmatic support.
