understanding & addressing child poverty 20 october 2009 councillor les lawrence cabinet member...
Post on 02-Jan-2016
216 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Understanding & Addressing Understanding & Addressing
Child Poverty Child Poverty 20 October 2009
Councillor Les LawrenceCouncillor Les Lawrence
Cabinet Member - Children, Young People & FamiliesCabinet Member - Children, Young People & Families
Tony HowellTony Howell
Strategic Director - Children, Young People & FamiliesStrategic Director - Children, Young People & Families
The National Context
• What do we know about child poverty?
• What can we do about it?
Brighter Futures Strategy
Key Building Blocks •Data - analysis - epidemiology
•Common language - the logic model:Outcomes, Activities, Investments, Outputs
•Evidence-based practice/fidelity
•Developmental approach – all children and vulnerable children
Underpinned by involvement of children, young people & parents/carers.
Child Poverty
We know an awful lot about child poverty
• What causes it - or is strongly linked
• The effects it has
• How it sustains
Child Poverty
• Definitions & indicators
• Hotspots
• We can map it!
Children in PovertyBirmingham Map
% of total families with low income
Out of work and poor
In work and poor
Total % families in poverty
Ladywood 45% + 36% = 81%
Sparkbrook/
Small Heath
41% + 38% = 79%
Hodge Hill 40% + 36% = 75%
Even in ‘best’ constituency – still 10-15% of families with low income
What causes it?
• Large families
• Living in social housing
• Intergenerational poverty
• Ethnicity
• Low pay
• Lone parents - but not family breakdown
• But no absolute causality - more likelihoods & probabilities
What effects it has
Likely effects on a child:
• less extensive vocabulary & fluency• less experience of the world around them• lower achievement in English & maths at 11• less success at secondary school• not seeing school as a solution• ending up on the fringes
For wider society:
• more spent on social care & benefits• more costs on homelessness• extra costs on social, emotional and behavioural issues• more spent on free school meals• more costs for primary health care
Action - 4 Building Blocks
• Improve the chances of high skill/high wage sustainable employment for parents
• Strengthening financial capability and support
• Improving education and personal development outcomes for children, young people and families
• Tackling deprivation and poor environments
And finally…
• Take it away from ‘an issue only for Children’s Services’
• See where we can influence incomes directly
top related