The G. Barrie Landry Child Protection Professional Training program

Background

The G. Barrie Landry Child Protection Professional Training program (Landry CP Training) is a one week, on site intensive course for mid-career professionals who work to protect children from abuse, violence, exploitation and neglect, whether at an international organization, a local NGO, or a government agency. While the conditions facing children may vary—from displacement to labor, from abuse and neglect to early marriage – all children, whatever their circumstances or legal status, have a right to health, education, justice and protection. Realizing these complex rights requires an integrated and multi-sectoral approach in which different state and civil-society partners act together to deliver a holistic system of protection.

The Landry CP Training will help participants gain a deep understanding of child protection issues and of the leadership and negotiation skills relevant to building and sustaining effective child protection systems.

Goals

The training is designed to create a stimulating learning opportunity for experienced professionals involved with child protection issues. Taught by Harvard faculty with child protection-relevant expertise, the goals of the course are to:

• Ensure that participants understand the impact of violence, exploitation and abuse on children’s emotional, intellectual and social development, including the traumatic effect of war and natural
  disasters.
• Familiarize participants with multidisciplinary approaches,  analytical frameworks and legal principles, including those based on international human rights, that prevent and address child-specific harms.
• Ensure participants understand the components of a well functioning child protection system.
• Familiarize participants with data sources for child protection systems, the challenges of setting up such systems, the skills required for evidence-based advocacy, and ways to leverage digital solutions to solve child protection challenges.
• Teach participants coalition-building and leadership skills that enhance the ability to secure child protection policy and legislative reforms across governance domains (education, health, social
  services, justice).
• Harness the new knowledge and skills gained by participation in the Landry CP Training, to generate a set of options that strengthen the child protection system in each participating team’s country and improve the quality of their national child protection plans of action.

“It helped me to approach issues of concern in a more holistic way. I also believe that it assisted me in advancing advocacy skills and ways of communicating and presenting matters of concern.”

Past Participant

Who Should Attend?

Mid-career professionals working in an area where child protection is critical, and who are committed to developing multi-sectoral leadership skills to enhance their impact, are encouraged to apply. Because this training is intended to strengthen national capacity, applications must be submitted as a cross-sectoral country team, with 3 members per team. The preferred composition of the country team is 1 member employed by a government agency, 1 employed in an international organization and 1 employed by a local NGO. No applications from individuals will be considered for admission to the training.

“Starting from the first day of the course we [began] discussing very difficult issues with my colleague that we have never discussed before.”

Past Participant

Fluency in written and spoken English is required for participation. All applications will be considered and reviewed by the FXB Center for Health & Human Rights Child Protection teaching and training team. Admitted teams will be notified well in advance of the start of the program.

One of the key benefits of the Landry Child Protection Training program is that country teams develop practical and implementable solutions that directly relate to a real-life issue they are grappling with. Prior to attending the course, country teams work collaboratively to prepare a case study they will present at the start of the training week. Each country presentation outlines a child
protection challenge and possible solutions to it that the team is facing and wishes to tackle. The training organizers will send participants materials to facilitate their preparation of the case study.

Past case studies have focused on a range of different child protection issues. They include specific issues such as child marriage, alternative care, or violence as well as systemic child protection challenges such as inadequate legal frameworks, an insufficient social service workforce, or lack of reliable administrative data on child protection.

“Now I have much more knowledge of the different issues of the child protection system. I think I became even more sensitive to the problems of children because I’ve seen what problems children face in other countries and it helps me understand what the most significant and actual issues are in my own state.”

Past Participant

Throughout the Harvard training week, participants use the research and concepts presented by instructors and developed in discussions to refine their case study. On the final day of the training, each country team presents their take-aways as applied to their child protection case. This final presentation is made to a panel of Harvard Affiliated child protection experts who provide individualized feedback and suggestions to each team.

Tuition

Thanks to the generosity of the G. Barrie Landry Fund for Child Protection Professional Training and UNICEF USA tuition costs will be covered for admitted applicants. Enrollment is limited to 30 participants (10 country teams consisting of 3 members each).

Please note that participants are responsible for their travel and accommodation costs, and for securing their required visa and other travel documentation.

Training Logistics and Applications

The week-long G. Barrie Landry Child Protection Professional Training program is held in-house on the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health campus in Boston, Massachusetts and taught by Harvard faculty and expert child protection professionals. The 2025 program will take place the week of June 2nd.

Applications for the 2025 program have now closed. Please feel free to email Rebecca Shin, Director of the Child Protection Program, at rebeccashin@hsph.harvard.edu if you have any questions regarding this program.