A child is a child: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage
Strengthening the implementation, monitoring and evaluation framework of the National action plan to implement the EU Council's recommendations on establishing the European Child Guarantee
- Hrvatski
- English
Project context and partnership
The Republic of Croatia is a high-income EU Member State. However, equity gaps and the issue of poverty and social exclusion affecting children are still present. Even though it has decreased over the years, according to Eurostat the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children in 2023 was 16.1% (15.8% for boys and 16,4% for girls). The persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate among children has grown between 2022 and 2023 – from 10.9% to 15.6%. Persistent child poverty is of particular concern, undermining equality and having damaging effects on child’s development. It is estimated that out of total population of children who are at risk of poverty, about 70% of them are living in persistent poverty.
The objective of the European Child Guarantee is to prevent and combat social exclusion of children by guaranteeing effective access of children in need to a set of key services: free early childhood education and care, free education (including school-based activities and at least one healthy meal each school day), and free healthcare.
In July 2023 the Government of the Republic of Croatia endorsed the National action plan to implement the EU Council's recommendations on establishing European Child Guarantee (NAP CG), the main operational tool for improving equal access to key services for children in need, as an important way to prevent social exclusion and poverty in general. The document consolidates key strategic documents of the Republic of Croatia and forms the basis for the implementation of a wide array of policies, measures and activities in key intervention areas, with an emphasis on the provision of high-quality integrated services to children at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
In the framework of this project, technical support will be provided with the purpose of strengthening the capacity and ability of Croatian national and subnational institutions to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate policies, measures and activities endorsed within the NAP CG, in the areas of social services, child protection, education and health.
This project is part of a multi-country initiative, supported by the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), involving Czech Republic, Portugal, Ireland and Croatia, emphasizing the shared commitment of all participating countries to enhance child well-being and uphold children’s rights. The collaborative effort in the Republic of Croatia is led by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, funded by the European Union via the TSI and implemented by UNICEF – Croatia Country Office and Europe and Central Asia Regional Office, in cooperation with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support.
Project expected impact, outcomes and outputs
The expected impact of this Project is the effective planning, coordination, and monitoring of the implementation of all measures and activities planned by the national action plan for the implementation of the European Child Guarantee (NAP CG), by all national and sub-national stakeholders involved.
The outcomes contributing to this overall objective are:
- Development and harmonization of a high-quality system for policy development, planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluating outcomes for children at risk of poverty and social exclusion. This system, along with the knowledge, skills and tools enhanced through this initiative, will be used by the national NAP CG coordinator and the systems of social welfare, education, health and other systems responsible for the implementation of the NAP CG.
Enhancing knowledge, skills, human capacities and systems / procedures of the Croatian counties to be more capable to plan, monitor, implement and provide feedback on the NAP CG measures and activities within their scope of authority and responsibility.
The direct outputs of the Project implementation are planned as follows:
- NAP CG monitoring framework developed, with methodological guidelines for monitoring indicators, coordination procedures and responsibilities, tools and time-frames; The framework should include methodology notes for each of the selected indicators, instructions on data collection tools and procedures, analysis, monitoring intervals, presentation format, required resources, responsibilities, etc.;
- Relevant national and subnational authorities’ staff educated and trained to use the monitoring framework and participative methods (including beneficiaries) in planning, managing and coordinating processes and report on NAP CG implementation;
- Early assessment of the elements necessary for the evaluation of NAP CG carried out, including the theory of change, baseline data, institutional framework and capacity;
- NAP CG monitoring framework conceptualized in the form of dashboard, with procedures, protocols and user guidelines, and technical specifications for the future web-based dashboard;
- Framework / foundational tool for an in-depth analysis of the “hidden costs” associated with the provision of education and healthcare to children developed, with preliminary analysis and recommendations;
- Tools and guidelines to plan, manage, coordinate, implement and monitor NAP CG measures and activities within the area of responsibility of sub-national level decision makers developed and introduced, including the analytical report on the availability and quality of data, as well as gaps in the collection, communication, analysis, coordination mechanisms at the county level.
This page was published with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
