European Child Guarantee
Breaking the cycle of disadvantage
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One out of every five children in the EU is currently living a childhood in which opportunities to be healthy, to learn, to participate and to reach their full potential are being cut short
- Poverty and deprivation in childhood can mark children for the rest of their lives; undermine a child’s health, education and prospects for future income, as well as the child’s ability to thrive in adulthood.
- Poverty and social exclusion can lead to intergenerational cycles of disadvantage for vulnerable children.
- In Europe countries are struggling to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children, particularly: children with disabilities, children in precarious family situations, children residing in institutions and migrant and refugee children. Now, an already serious problem is being further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘Child Guarantee,’ an initiative of the European Commission which aims to ensure that the most vulnerable children in the European Union have access to healthcare, education, childcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition, ultimately aiming to ensure progressive realisation of child’s rights in Europe
The European Commission has partnered with UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECAR) for Phase III of the Preparatory Action for a Child Guarantee to demonstrate the feasibility of the Child Guarantee in seven selected EU Member states. The 24-month pilot programme, “Testing the Child Guarantee in the EU Member States,” will contribute to developing the Child Guarantee framework at the EU level as well as showcase innovative approaches and develop national action plans to reduce child poverty and address systemic disadvantages for children in seven Member states: Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. During this period, UNICEF will be supporting the European Commission and the seven countries in a series of activities at EU-wide, national and sub-national levels.
>> The Child Guarantee: Phase III – “Testing the Child Guarantee in the EU Member States”
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In Bulgaria the interventions in the framework of Phase III of the Child Guarantee aim to improve the living conditions and increase access and use of integrated services for children with disabilities and children
in precarious family situations - including children in poor households and extremely poor households and Roma children- through the testing and scaling up of 4 innovative models in three districts of the country.
>> Pragrammatic update June 2021 - Phase III of European Child Guarantee: The Fundamentals
2 target groups
Children with disabilities
Children in precarious family situations
Children with a minority racial or ethnic background
4 Interventions:
Home Visiting Early Childhood Intervention Services
Inclusive pre-school education services
Outreach child and family-centered preventive and support
services
3 Districts --> 10 Municipalities
Burgas
Sliven
Stara Zagora
This project is funded by the European Union.
© UNICEF-Bulgaria, 2021
The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.
