The POMMAR Project (Prevenção Orientada aos Meninos e Meninas em Risco/Prevention Oriented to At-Risk Youth) was a USAID-funded project which supported nongovernmental (NGOs) and governmental organizations serving the needs of at-risk children in northeastern Brazil.

The goal of the project was to assist young people in Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza at risk of, or already involved in, delinquency, substance abuse, prostitution, and human rights violations. Toward this end, the purpose of the project was to strengthen the capacity of NGO and government organizations to:

• provide support services to the families of at-risk youth through community based family preservation;
• support market-oriented vocational training for young people;
• provide preventive programs to girls and adolescent women at risk of sexual exploitation and support services to girls living on the street and young women prostitutes; and,
• protect youth's rights and improve the administration of juvenile justice.

In these three cities well over one million children are estimated to be at-risk of illiteracy, disease, delinquency, drug abuse, prostitution, and human rights violations. Most existing services target the needs of children already living on the street and emphasize food and shelter. Besides a lack of preventive services, little attention has been paid to family support. While a number of NGOs are working to address the needs of these populations, most need training in such areas as organizational and project management techniques, coalition building, advocacy strategies and fundraising.

The Brazilian Child Rights Act was passed in 1990 to protect the rights of children and emphasize rehabilitative rather than punitive treatment in the juvenile justice system. To date, little has been done to enforce it. Strengthening the institutions responsible for enforcing this law is critical to protecting the rights of street children and those considered at risk.