Combating child poverty and social exclusion in the EU and promoting the

well-being of children

Patricia Hoyos, Policy Officer

Impact of Poverty and Social Exclusion on

Children’s Lives and their Well-being

8 - 9 September 2008, Bratislava, Slovakia

 

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Eurochild AISBL

Eurochild is an international non-profit-making network of 54 full members and 12 associate and honorary members from 27 European countries

Eurochild’s objectives are to promote the rights and well-being of children and young people by influencing policy at European level and strengthening members’ capacity to influence policy at national levels

Eurochild has a strong commitment to empowering children and young people to participate in these processes

Eurochild is co-funded by the European Commission

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Eurochild’s work

Anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Presumes children to be young citizens who have a right to be heard and who can make a contribution to society

Makes a critical connection between child poverty, social exclusion and the ability to exercise rights

Identifies the shared responsibility of families and the state to enable children to exercise those rights

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Combating poverty and social exclusion in the EU and promoting the well-being of children

The presentation will be in 3 parts: a profile of child poverty in the EU the EU social inclusion policy context how Eurochild contributes to the child poverty

agenda

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

How many children live in poverty in the EU?

19 millon children - an average of 19% of the child population – live below the poverty threshold compared to an average of 16% for the total population

Child poverty in the EU is measured as “at-risk-of-poverty”. The risk threshold is set at 60% of the national median household income. Rates are calculated after social transfers

In almost half of the EU countries, the risk of poverty for children is above 20%, ranging from 9-10 % in Nordic countries to 27% in Lithuania and 29% in Portugal. In Slovakia the average is reported as 19%

Source: Eurostat – EU-SILC survey year 2005

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

What are the standards of living of “poor” children?

Wide variations across the EU Corrected for the differences in the cost of living – that is,

expressed in Purchasing Power Standards - national poverty thresholds range from 263 PPS in Romania to 350-420 PPS in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, to around 1850 PPS in Austria and the UK, to 2866 PPS in Luxembourg

Source: EU-SILC (2005) income ref year 2004

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

What are the trends in child poverty in the EU?

OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) recently ran a specific data collection to estimate trends in poverty rates since the early 1990s

In most OECD/EU countries, child poverty either remained stable or showed signs of increase

Only in 4 countries did child poverty show signs of decline (Austria, Hungary, Spain, UK)

Source: OECD working paper: Child poverty in OED countries: trends, causes and policy response (to be published)

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

Which children are most vulnerable?

Households most at risk of poverty are lone parent households and large families (3 or more children)

50% of EU children living in poverty live in these two types of households; 23% in lone parent households; 27% in large families

Joblessness represents the main risk of poverty for households with children; almost 50% of children living in a jobless household live in a lone parent household

In-work poverty remains an issue in the majority of EU countries

Source: Child poverty and well-being in the EU: EC 2008

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

What are the consequences of growing up in poverty?

Less likely to do well in school Less likely to enjoy good health Less likely to stay out of the criminal justice system Less likely to integrate into the labour market

Consequently: Damaging effects on future life opportunities Damaging effects on potential to contribute to society

Source: Child poverty and well-being in the EU: EC 2008

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

How do we measure the impact of poverty and social exclusion on children’s well-being?

“....what we really seek to know is whether children are adequately clothed and housed and fed and protected; whether their circumstances are such that they are likely to become all that they are capable of becoming; ....whether they are disadvantaged in ways that make it difficult or impossible for them to participate fully in the life and opportunities of the world around them.....whether children feel loved, cherished, special and supported, within the family and community.......whether the family and community are being supported in this task by public policy and resources”

Source: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 7: An overview of child well-being in rich countries (2007

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1. A profile of child poverty in the EU

What are the dimensions of child well-being?

UNICEF Report Card 7 provides a comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children in 21 countries of the industrialised world

Child well-being is measured under six different dimensions: material well-being; health and safety; education; peer and family relationships; behaviours and risks; children’s own subjective sense of well-being

No country did well on all six dimensions; no one dimension stands as a reliable proxy for child well-being as a whole

Source: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre Report Card 7: An overview of child well-being in rich countries (2007

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2. The EU social inclusion policy contextNational Strategy Reports on Social Protection and Social Inclusion

(NSRSPSI)

A key part of the EU’s Open Method of Coordination (OMC) established at the Lisbon European Council in 2000

Since the 2006-2008 round of plans, the three separate processes of social inclusion – pensions - health care have been brought together into one overall process

Plans still retain their distinctiveness; the social inclusion strand of the NSRSPSI is the National Action Plan on social inclusion (NAP/Inclusion)

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2. The EU social inclusion policy contextThe Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion

Each year the EC and the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council adopt a Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, proposed by the EC

The Joint Report examines and reports on the National Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion

The Joint Report is submitted to the Spring European Council to inform Heads of State on progress in the areas of social protection and social inclusion

The European Council makes recommendations to Member States for action in these policy areas

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2. The EU social inclusion policy contextChild Poverty and the NAPs/Inclusion

At the Spring Summit of 2006, Heads of State called on Member States to “take necessary measures to rapidly and significantly reduce child poverty, giving all children equal opportunities, regardless of their social background”

Member States and the EC responded with clear commitments to break the cycle of deprivation and the majority of Member States made Child Poverty a priority in the 2006-2008 NAPs/Inclusion

In 2007, child poverty was selected as a key theme for further work to deepen the understanding of the complexity of the issues

Key lessons are reflected in a number of important reports, amongst which is the Social Protection Committee (SPC) Report: Child poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way forward (2008)

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2. The EU social inclusion policy contextChild poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way forward

Three parts: evaluative review of child poverty in the EU; policy monitoring and assessment of child well-being in Member States; conclusions and recommendations for better monitoring and assessing child poverty and well-being at EU and national levels

Member States encouraged to take account of the report in the preparation of 2008-2010 NAPs/Inclusion

A key point is that strategies to reduce child poverty must be based on a sound diagnosis of causes – and specific objectives set which relate to the key factors identified

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2. The EU social inclusion policy context

Child poverty and well-being in the EU: current status and way forward

No quantitative targets to reduce child poverty proposed, but Member States encouraged to develop quantified objectives (Social Ministers Council March 2008) – body of knowledge now available should support this

Indicators not yet developed for dimensions of child well-being that relate to health, education, exposure to risk and risk behaviour, social participation and family environment, local environment but further work on qualitative indicators of child well-being planned

Child poverty will continue to be a priority in the EU social inclusion process and this is expected to be reflected in the NAPs/Inclusion 2008-2010

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3. How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty agenda

• Monitoring NAPs/Inclusion to provide specialist input on child poverty and exclusion

• Contributions to the OMC through participation in peer review seminars;

• Participation in Round Table conferences on social inclusion; • Eurochild conferences and seminars; • Responses to EC consultation documents; • ‘ad hoc’ briefing papers for MEPs; • Position papers to support advocacy work at EU and national levels;

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How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty agendaMonitoring the NAPs/Inclusion

Monitoring the NAPs/Inclusion since 2004, producing reports for the EC with recommendations for action

A comprehensive report in 2007 on the 2006-2008 NAPS/Inclusion based on country analyses of 27 Member States’ reports. Key recommendations included: the need for quantifiable targets to reduce the number of children living in income poverty; the need to address child poverty within the framework of the UNCRC; need to develop an indicator or set of indicators that are non-income related, specific to children and informed by their perceptions of need

Slovakia has been an active participant in NAPs/Inclusion monitoring since 2004 and produced a detailed report on the situation of Slovakian children for the 2007 analysis (available in handout)

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How Eurochild contributes to the child poverty agenda2008-2010 NAPs/Inclusion

Guidance and lobby letters for members to influence the planning process

Preparation of a ‘toolkit’ for members participating in the assessment of plans to provide a framework for comment on: the quality of the preparation process and whether it has involved stakeholders, including children; whether the situation of children is accurately reflected and key challenges identified; whether policy measures are appropriate and resources adequately matched to policy objectives; monitoring and evaluation arrangements; governance

Production of a 2008-2010 NAPS/Inclusion Report

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Child poverty and children’s rights

On 16th January 2008, the European Parliament adopted the EC Communication (2006) Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child

This links the promotion of children’s rights to the EU social inclusion process and the reduction of child poverty

The participation of children in the EU Child Rights Forum will enable their voice to be heard directly in matters that affect their well-being

On July 2008 the Commission issued its Communication on a “Renewed social agenda: Opportunities, access and solidarity in 21st century Europe» aiming to strengthen the current EU social agenda by supporting action in seven priority areas including children and youth.

The communication aims to strengthen the OMC by increasing political commitment and visibility, strengthening the links with other EU policies and Enhancing analytical tools and evidence base and by stimulating monitoring and peer review by Members States.

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Thank you for your attention