The child guarantee: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage
Phase III of the preparatory action for a child guarantee
The partnership between the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) and the European Commission to pilot the European Child Guarantee (ECG) as part of the Phase III of the preparatory action of the ECG across in seven Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain) is coming to an end on the 28th of April 2023.
We are pleased to share with you through this Programmatic Update the most important highlights of the progress to date.
Closing Event of Phase III: Leading the Way for Europe’s Children
The end of the Phase III of the Preparatory Action for a European Child Guarantee will be marked with a high-level closing event taking place in Sofia-Bulgaria, on 20 April 2023. The event aims to take stock of progress achieved in testing ECG and pave the way for effective implementation of ECG in European Union and beyond.
It will provide a unique opportunity for member states to celebrate achievements and share lessons learned and insights from the pilots and thus inspiring member states for an EU wide implementation of the ECG.
Based on the experience of Phase III, the event will aim to showcase how integrated, coordinated policies and practices developed as part of the ECG can reach to the most disadvantaged children and ensure their effective and free access to essential services. It will also provide an opportunity to discuss how the Child Guarantee serves as a vehicle for implementing the recommendations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Some of the main results of the Phase III of the Preparatory Action for a European Child Guarantee include:
- 18 models of services, interventions, and mechanisms aiming to enable access to essential services for disadvantaged groups of children, were developed, tested, and integrated within ECG National Action Plans, sectoral strategies as well as regional and local service development plans in 4 countries, through participatory and coordinated processes focused on bridging target groups of children to existing programmes and services.
- Since the start of the project over 30,345 children and young adults were reached with services and interventions and over 16,037 adult caregivers were reached with models of services and interventions across all four countries; around 2,914 professionals and decision-makers have been capacitated to provide quality ECG services and interventions.
- 7 countries were supported to design comprehensive ECG National Action Plans informed by the deep dive policy analyses, stakeholders’ participation and rapid evidence assessment on inter-sectorial collaboration.
- Sharing experience between pilot and with other Member States as part of the knowledge sharing platform and series of thematic webinars.
UNICEF Support to the development of European Child Guarantee National Action Plans (ECG NAP)
ECG NAPs have been developed in six pilot Member States under the leadership of ECG National Coordinators or other designated actors. UNICEF, together with the governments of these countries, have worked to ensure that these plans are based on robust evidence and rely on the findings and recommendations of the Deep Dives analyses undertaken in each country, and that they are participatory and have sound monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
In the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, most of the countries are adapting their national action plans to include measures to address the basic need for protection and access to services for refugee children from Ukraine.
By the time this Programmatic Update was drafted, the ECG NAPs for Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain were submitted to the European Commission.
Bulgaria
The Deep Dive analysis has been reviewed by line ministries which have provided their feedback and has been used extensively to inform the drafting of the ECG NAP. The NAP is expected to be a comprehensive document based on the vision of the government to consolidate in one place all the sectoral policies covered by the Child Guarantee, as well as other areas such as social protection measures and social services. To inform the work of the WG, technical guidance and capacity-building support was provided such as a ’Brief M&E Guidance Note’, prepared by UNICEF ECARO, a proposal for key actions to be included in the NAP, a draft M&E Framework consultative meeting with some key NGO networks, and technical webinars covering the five thematic areas of the ECG.
The NAP development process has been delayed due to the decision of the Government to expand its scope and to include specific measures and interventions targeted at refugee families and children from Ukraine. The NAP will be published for public consultation as per national legislation. The draft NAP was developed by an inter-institutional Working Group, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy & National Coordinator for the ECG and included more than 60 members – representatives of national institution and agencies, local authorities, civil society organisations, private sector associations, trade unions, academia, UNICEF and UNHCR. In October 2022, final version of the NAP was discussed and approved by the National Council on Social Inclusion, the National Council on Child Protection and the National Child Council at the State Agency for Child Protection and submitted for approval by the Council of Ministers. On 9 November 2022, the NAP was approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria. Its implementation will be coordinated through an inter institutional working group at a political level, chaired by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and involving all key line ministries and institutions, which will be complemented by a permanent expert group to provide technical support and monitor its implementation.
Croatia
UNICEF Croatia is a member of the Working Group set up for the development of the NAP, together with more than 20 other governmental institutions and key stakeholders and it has supported consultations with children and young people, which were conducted in several related phases.
The Deep Dive analysis as well as report from the consultations with children have informed and served as a basis for development of the NAP.
An advanced draft has been submitted to the European Commission and published on its website. On 22nd of December 2022 consultations with all stakeholders were organized with participation of children and young people. The process of gathering formal opinions from all the line ministries and national authorities will be completed soon and the final document submitted to the Government for formal adoption. With technical support by UNICEF, a monitoring framework is being advanced further.
Greece
Greece has established a Working Group comprised of representatives from 12 key Ministries[1] to work on the development of the NAP and provide inputs, including new measures, recommendations, and key actions.
Under the leadership of the national coordinator for the ECG, EKKA, inputs were requested from a variety of stakeholders: local, regional government, independent authorities, and civil society. UNICEF supported the task force established to draft the NAP monitoring framework in line with the recommendations of the Deep Dive analysis. Upon the request by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, UNICEF provided technical expertise to support the drafting process, to develop the monitoring and evaluation framework, and to ensure that children’s voices are considered.
A preliminary draft was submitted to the European Commission at the end of March 2022. The final NAP was submitted in September 2022.
UNICEF is providing technical support to Molsa since late December 2022 through TSI in order to a) provide a recommendations report on an effective monitoring and evaluation framework for children in poverty and social exclusion, including technical specifications for the creation of an integrated system for the monitoring of children in need and b) a consolidated governance mechanism to be developed for the implementation of the NAP on the Child Guarantee, with a clear set of duties, referral pathways and statutory collaboration protocols for all stakeholders involved.
Italy
Further to its submission in March 2022, the Italian ECG NAP was formally adopted for dissemination in September 2022. Under the leadership of the National Coordinator, several inter-governmental Technical Working Groups were proposed to prioritise implementation of key ECG National Action Plan (ECG NAP) measures. The National Coordinator has moved forward in the set up of a Governance structure by establishing a National Steering Group inclusive of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Department of Family Policy under the Presidency of the Council, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education. Further coordination work is planned to take place for the constitution of a similar governance mechanisms at regional and local level to support the implementation and monitoring of the ECG NAP.
To promote the dissemination of the findings of the Deep Dive and the content of the ECG NAP, UNICEF, together with the National ECG Coordinator and relevant Ministries, has organised three thematic webinars on some of the main topics related to the ECG in Italy, namely education, participation and multidimensional poverty. As part of the dissemination strategy, UNICEF is holding public presentations of the main results of the research, and those that informed the EGC NAP, with local governments and relevant stakeholders. Presentations have been conducted for the Social Committee of the Conference of the Italian Regions, the Umbria Region and the Social Policy Committee of the Emilia-Romagna Region. The Youth Advisoryocacy Board (YAB) has continued to raise awareness, gather the opinions of their peers and share recommendations with National Coordinator and key institutional stakeholders on ECG priorities.
Germany
The German NAP is developed jointly by all relevant Ministries and together with the regional and communal level. It is currently being negotiated between the Ministries. The Deep Dive analysis has been informing the discussions around the NAP. The Deep Dive analysis was shared with the Commission in January 2022 and has since led to a dialogue on recommendations and envisaged measures. The Deep Dive analysis has been welcomed and its main results have been considered as basis for the first draft of the NAP.
Lithuania
The draft ECG NAP has been presented to the National Child Welfare Council under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, chaired by the Minister of Social Security and Labour. This Council is expected to endorse the ECG NAP, once finalized. It is expected that the ECG NAP will be formally approved via a Ministerial decision (by three Ministers – Social Security and Labour, Health and Educations, Science and Sports). The Council is also the body in charge of the monitoring of the implementation and serves as a platform for its coordination. In addition, the Parliament will also play an oversight role through its Human Rights and Social Affairs and Labour Committees.
The final draft ECG NAP will be translated in a child-friendly language and consulted with children so that their voices are reflected in the plan. Children will be involved through the newly established Child Council under the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Agency. The participation of children from the ECG target groups is prioritized for this exercise.
Spain
The drafting of the ECG NAP was led by the ECG Management committee, which includes the National Coordinator (General Directorate for Children Rights), High Commissioner on Child Poverty and UNICEF. The results of the Deep Dive were used extensively in the elaboration of the ECG NAP in Spain, especially in the analysis of the different key services and objectives concerning different groups of children in need, the definition of areas for action, objectives and measures, and the choice of indicators for goals and objectives.
The consultation process for the ECG NAP with the public and relevant stakeholders, has been organized in parallel with its drafting. The process of consultation with children has also been organized in parallel, including the development of a child-friendly version of the NAP and the organization of several consultation meetings with children of various backgrounds and age groups in the framework of National Council for Child Participation.
The State Action Plan for the Implementation of the European Child Guarantee (2022-2030) in Spain was finally approved by the Council of Ministers on June 5, 2022, following a review of the advanced draft by the European Commission and the final contributions of all relevant ministries and the Autonomous Communities. The NAP is structured in three axes: fight against child poverty and reinforcement of social protection for children and adolescents; universalization of social rights through access and enjoyment of quality, accessible and inclusive services; and promotion of territorial equity and protective, inclusive and participatory environments. The NAP includes 25 objectives and more than 80 concrete measures with their respective goals and indicators.
Spanish Government, with the collaboration of UNICEF, is currently developing a tool for data collection, monitoring and evaluation, and to facilitate mutual learning, in order to support the implementation and reporting on the progress of the ECG.
Innovative and evidence-based models of services for the most disadvantaged children
In 4 countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and Italy), in close cooperation with the national and local governments, 18 evidenced-based and sustainable models of services and interventions for children from disadvantaged backgrounds are being implemented and tested for replicability. The implementation of all models of services has continued in coordination and agreement with national and sub-national authorities and institutions, through carefully designed plans and agreements, overseen by the coordination mechanisms at national and local level.
Operational research
The Operational Research (or process evaluation) is being carried out in the 4 Countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, and Italy) which are implementing specific models of services to address the needs of the most disadvantaged children. Phase 1 and Phase II data collection have been completed.
The operational research has been completed and a synthesis report has been prepared. The aim of the research is to identify key learning from the pilot that can be used to inform the further development of effective services for children and families through the Child Guarantee in all 27 EU countries. The research entailed two waves of in-depth interviews involving 121 key stakeholders (including practitioners, practice managers and policy makers) near the initiation and completion of the pilot.
The report covers key themes related to the experience of implementing these models of intervention, including: planning, integrated working, service design and innovation, needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation, participation, inclusion, and sustainability. It concludes with three sets of key messages from the research, focusing on what is needed to: support the initiative at the European level, lay the foundations at the national level, and develop interventions at the local level.
The synthesis report will be published in late May and UNICEF will host a webinar at that point to communicate the key messages.
The European Child Guarantee
Poverty and social exclusion can have a profound impact on the lives of children, preventing them from accessing basic services such as healthcare, education, nutritious food, quality housing and childcare.
Leading the Way for Europe's Children
Event: The high-level closing event aims to take stock of progress achieved in testing ECG and pave the way for effective implementation of ECG in European Union and beyond.
Highlights
The partnership between the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) and the European Commission to pilot the European Child Guarantee (ECG) as part of the Phase III of the preparatory action of the ECG across in seven Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain) is coming to an end on the 28th of April 2023.
We are pleased to share with you through this Programmatic Update the most important highlights of the progress to date.
