end child poverty

8/3/2019 End Child Poverty

1/62010 | European year to combat poverty and social exclusion | Eurochild Key Messages

2010 European year to combat poverty and social exclusion

empow ring children

End child poverty through

universal access to q ality servicesequal oppo tunities or all

preventi n & early interventionsupporting vulnerable hildren

strengt ening amiliesmore accountab lity

sufcient resource a locationmulti imentional policies

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EUROCHILDKEY MESSAGES



In the European Union today 20% of children live at risk of poverty (1). Poverty is a denial of childrens rights and canprevent them from realising their full potential. Child poverty impacts negatively on the whole of society, both in thepresent and in the future.Poverty is much more than material deprivation. Poverty can also mean poor quality health care, education, housing

and environment. A childrens rights perspective takes all these factors into account. It explores all the in uences overa childs well-being, both inside and outside the family. We cannot make a decisive impact on child poverty withoutaddressing childrens rights.Eurochild key messages provide policy recommendations for ending child poverty.

Art.12 CRC : children have the right to expresstheir views in all matters a ecting them and tohave their opinions taken into account.

(1) Eurostat, 2010.

Childrens right to be heard is a cornerstone of the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).Policy design and implementation need to take accountof the views and experiences of children themselves.Involving children bene ts them and leads to betterdecisions. This is true for all children, but is even morerelevant for children experiencing poverty or social ex-clusion. All children should have access to appropriateinformation and dialogue processes that enable them to

Universally accessible services are a pre-condition to en-suring everybody enjoys equal rights. However, accessneeds to be coupled with quality. Services provided mustbe e cient, respond to the needs of users and be o e-red by quali ed sta . Service delivery must be focussedon respect, empowerment and participation of childrenand their families. High quality, inclusive education is thebasis of social integration and mobility. It should promoteequality of opportunity and be founded on a holistic viewof child development.

Investing in universal services or children and ade-quate parental leaves in addition to efective targeted interventions would save the UK government 486billion over the next 20 years (4).

why?

why?

Because every child has the right to be heard

Because every child should be able to accessthe services they need

share their views and experiences. Their opinions mustbe given due weight.

In the EU 81% o young people said being consulted be oreany public decision concerning them is taken would helpthem to be more active citizens in society (2).

A Belgian survey concluded that whereas most children seem to be listened to in their amily, only a small rac-tion o them have the opportunity to be active partici- pants in the school context (3).

Art. 24 & 28 CRC : children have the right to goodquality health care, to clean water, a clean envi-ronment and the right to an education.

Empowering children through participation

Universal access to quality services

Children are not mini-persons with mini-human rights. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

(2) Looking behind the fgures. The main results o the Eurobarometer 2007survey on youth, European Commission, Education and Culture DG.

(3) Enqute sur la participation des en ants et des jeunes de 10 18 ans,Observatoire de len ance, de la jeunesse et de laide la jeunesse, 2007.

(4) Backing the Future: why investing in children is good or us all, Actionor Children & New Economics Foundation, 2009.



Poverty is both a cause and an e ect of discrimination.All children should be given the same opportunities tofully develop their capacities and enjoy their rights. Poli-cies must be anchored in the principles of the UNCRC andparticularly take into account the primary considerationof childrens best interest.

Poverty is amongst the actors hampering Roma chil-dren attending pre-school (5). In Romania, only 20% o Roma children are going to kindergartens and bene-

ting rom preschool education. 30% o the children

aged 3-10 years sufer rom illnesses that have longbeen eradicated in the developing world (including tu-berculosis) (6).

Research conducted in the UK ound widespread evi-dence o children being un airly re used entry to public services such as libraries, leisure centers, museums and art galleries (7).

An estimated 10% o the worlds population - approxima-tely 650 million people, o which 200 million are children- experience some orm o disability. Disability is both acause and a consequence o poverty. Poverty limits ac-

cess to health and rehabilitation services(9)

.

The seeds of poverty and social exclusion are sown ear-ly in life. Families with young children, and in particularthose facing poverty and social exclusion, must receivethe necessary support and encouragement to addresspotential problems at the earliest possible stage. Inter-vention before problems occur is less costly and produceslong-term bene ts to society. High quality, accessible anda ordable early years education and care for all childrencan contribute to reducing future educational inequalityand disadvantage.

Average public spending by OECD countries up to age six accounts or only a quarter o all spending on children;but it is in the rst six years that spending can have thegreatest impact. Governments should invest more mo-ney in children during the rst six years o their lives toreduce social inequality and help all children, especially the most vulnerable, to live happier lives (10) .

Childrens health is a potentially valuable economic investment. It can result in better educated and more productive adults, set in motion avourable demogra- phic changes, and help to break the inter-generational

transmission o poverty (11)

.

Art. 27 CRC : Children have a right to a standardof living that is adequate to meet their physicaland mental needs. Governments should helpfamilies who cannot a ord to provide this.

why?

why?

Because every child should have the samechance in life

Because prevention is better than cure

Art. 18 CRC : governments shall take measures toensure children of working parents can bene tfrom child-care services and facilities.

Art. 7 CRPD(8) : State Parties shall take all necessarymeasures to ensure the full enjoyment by childrenwith disabilities of all human rights and fundamen-tal freedoms on an equal basis with other children.

Equal opportunities for all

Prevention and early intervention

Art. 2 CRC : the CRC applies to all childrenwhatever their race, religion, abilities, opi-nions, or type of family they come from.

(5) Towards quality education or Roma children: transition rom early child-hood to primary education, UNESCO and Council o Europe, 2007.

(6) Roma childrens rights protection: the right to equal chances non-dis-crimination, Save the Children Romania, 2010

(7) Young Equals: Making the case: why children should be protected romage discrimination and how it can be done, Childrens Rights Alliance orEngland, 2009.

(8) Convention on the Rights o Persons with Disabilities .

(9) World Report on Disability an Rehabilitation, concept note, WHO, 2009.

(10) Doing better or Children, OECD, 2009.(11) WHO Bulletin, 2005.



Children do best when they grow up in a positive familyenvironment. Governments priority must be to support

families cope with the challenges of raising children. Inaddition to material resources, families facing povertyor social exclusion need support that is non-judgmen-tal and empowering in its approach; such as access topublic services and measures that help reconcile familyand working life (15).

Financial bene ts have a signi cant impact on poverty levels among children in the European Union. Acrossthe EU social trans ers reduce the at-risk o poverty rate among households with children by 39%. But thisranges rom 65% in Finland to only 15% in Greece (16).

Parents themselves eel that poverty afects their abi-lity to care or their children. Living on a low incomemakes good amily unctioning more di cult and canafect the quality o parent-child relationships (17).

Some children, due to speci c situations (like children li-ving in institutions, separated from parents, leaving care,caring for sick or disabled parents), or characteristics (suchas children with disabilities, ethnic minority children, chil-dren with a migrant background) face greater risk of po-verty and exclusion. Universal services must be combinedwith speci c targeted interventions to meet the speci cneeds of the most vulnerable children.

Despite the lack o data, it can be roughly estimated that around 1% o children are taken into public careacross the EU (12). Countries which spend less on pu-blic health and social services are more likely to havehigher numbers o children in institutional care (13).

Universal services, such as schools and health care,have a role to play in supporting young carers along- side more specialist provision. Universal service provi-ders need to be more alert to the speci c needs o thesecarers and nd ways to deliver their particular serviceto them (14).

why?

why?

Because some children need extra helpto be included

Because families support and nurture children

Art.18 CRC : both parents share responsibilityfor bringing up their child and should alwaysconsider what is best for each child. Govern-ments should help parents and legal guardiansin their child-rearing responsibilities and pro-vide services to support them.

Art. 3.3 CRC : governmentsshall ensure that the insti-tutions, services and faci-lities responsible for thecare or protection of chil-dren maintain high stan-dards, particularly in theareas of safety, health, inthe number and suitabi-lity of their sta , as well ascompetent supervision.

Art. 23 CRC :children whohave any kindof disabilityshould havespecial care andsupport, so thatthey can leadfull and inde-pendent lives.

Supporting vulnerable children

Strengthening families

(12) Eurochild national members surveys on children in alternative care, 2ndedition, January 2010.

(13) Browne et al. (2004, 2005a) A European Survey o the number andcharacteristics o children less than three in residential care at risk o harm. Adoption and Fostering, 29 (4): 1-12.

(14) Young Adult Carers in the UK- Experiences, Needs and Services orCarers aged 16-24, The Princess Royal trust or carers, Young carersInternational, November 2008.

(15) Council o Europe Recommendation (2006)19 o the Committee o Ministers to member states on policy to support positive parentinghttps://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1073507&Site=CM.

(16) Combating poverty and social exclusion, A statistical portrait o the EU2010, Eurostat.

(17) Idem 4



Governments at national and regional level must beheld accountable for their commitment to ght socialexclusion and poverty. Targets and monitoring and eva-luation tools are necessary to appraise progress, assessimpact and design e ective policy measures. Other

stakeholders must be able to access and use informa-tion to fully hold governments to account.

In the UK, a combination o wel are to work measuresand generous tax credits has helped to reverse a histo-ric trend which saw low-income amilies with children

alling ever urther behind. This progress ell short o the target reduction o one quarter, but was welcomenonetheless. The Government has recognised theneed to extend its eforts in order to achieve its tar-

get o reducing child poverty to hal the 1999 level by 2010, and to close to zero by 2020 (18).

10 EU countries have set national quanti ed targets toreduce child poverty (19) .

Ending child poverty will require investment, but it is

money well spent. Where governments invest in uni-versally accessible early years services, family support,measures to reconcile family and working life, targetedsupport for the vulnerable, and universal and high qua-lity services, the bene ts of those investments are felt inall areas of the economy and society over the long-term.

UNICEF (2008) and OECD (2006) statistics suggest that countries have the potential to reduce child poverty rates to below 10% without a signi cant increase inoverall social spending, through redistribution poli-cies (20).

A NESF cost-bene t analysis in 2005 showed that or every 1 invested in ECCE in Ireland, a return o up to7.10 could be expected. International research de-monstrates that early intervention programmes are

efective in reducing criminal behaviour, promoting

social skills, and integrating disadvantaged childreninto mainstream society (21) .

why?

why?

Because Governments must be heldto account for children

Because money invested in childrenis money well spent

Art. 44 CRC : governments need to report regu-larly on the measures adopted to give e ect tothe rights contained in the CRC and on progressmade on the enjoyment of those rights.

Art. 26 CRC : every child has theright to bene t from social secu-rity. Bene ts should take into ac-count the resources and the cir-cumstances of the child and his/her family or legal guardians.

More accountability

Su cient resource allocation

(20) Early childhood education and care. Key lessons rom research orpolicy makers, NESSE, EC, June 2009

(21) National Economic and Social Forum (2005), Report no. 31: EarlyChildhood Care and Education, Dublin: National Economic and SocialForum Annex 5.1, p. 143.

(18) Poverty Magazine, 125, Autumn 2006, Child Poverty Action Group.(19) Ending Child Poverty within the EU ? A review o the 2008-2010NSRSPSI, Eurochild, February 2009



Multidimensional policies

Fighting against poverty and social exclusion requires joi-ned-up thinking and an integrated approach across di erentpolicy areas. Coordination between and within ministries, aswell as at local and regional level need to be enhanced, andgaps bridged between the measures taken at national andinternational level, namely with regard to the use of EU struc-tural funds.

A 2009 UNESCO report suggests there is a clear corre-lation between societal inequality and per ormance ineducation. Government spending on amily and social bene ts through cash bene ts or through investment in services is in turn strongly correlated with a reduction inchild poverty rates (22) .

A child mainstreaming approach, i.e. integrating aconcern with the well-being and social inclusion o chil-

why? Because children do not grow up in silos

Art. 4 CRC : governments shall undertake allappropriate legislative, administrative, andother measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the CRC.

Multidimentional policies

Eurochild is a network o organisations and individuals working in and across Europe toimprove the quality o li e o children and young people. Our work is underpinned by theprinciples enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights o the Child.

This publication is supported by the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007-2013). This pro-gramme is managed by the Directorate-General for Employment, social a airs and equal opportunities of the European Commis-sion. It was established to nancially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment and so-cial a airs area, as set out in the Social Agenda, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy goals in these elds.

The seven-year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and e ective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU-27, EFTA-EEA and EU candidate and pre-candidate countries.

PROGRESS mission is to strengthen the EU contribution in support of Member States commitments and e orts to create more and better jobs and to build amore cohesive society. To that e ect, PROGRESS will be instrumental in: providing analysis and policy advice on PROGRESS policy areas; monitoring and reporting on the implementation of EU legislation and policies in PROGRESS policy areas; promoting policy transfer, learning and support among Member States on EU objectives and priorities; and relaying the views of the stakeholders and society at large

For more information see:http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/progress/index_en.html

This publication re ects the authors view and the Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Avenue des Arts, 1-2 B-1210 Brussels Tel. +32 (0)2 511 70 83Fax +32 (0)2 511 72 98 www.eurochild.org [email protected]

(22) Education or All Global Monitoring, Overcoming inequality: whygovernance matters, 2009, UNESCO, cit. NESSE report, idem17.

(23) Child poverty & well-being in the EU, current status and wayorward, European Commission, 2008.

dren into all relevant areas o policy-making, ap- pears as the most success ul way to adequately respond to the EU political commitment to tackle child poverty and social exclusion (23).

February 2010

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