Investing in Children’s Services, Improving Outcomes
In preparation of the third peer review of the project ‘Investing in Children’s Services, Improving Outcomes’ taking place in Budapest on 7-8 May, the European Social Network (ESN) visited two of the five countries that will be featured at this year’s peer review – Hungary and Italy.
Budapest visit: new developments in children services
On 10 March, ESN’s CEO John Halloran and Policy Director Alfonso Lara Montero visited Budapest, where they met with Mr. Karoly Czibere, Hungarian Minister for Social Affairs, and Mr. Zsolt Batori, General Director for Child Protection and Social Services. We learned of some of the new developments taking place in the field of children services, particularly the move towards universalism in childcare provision; for instance, with the extension of kindergartens for all children from the age of three. Mr. Batori explained the key role of the Directorate in developing quality measures and inspecting services as well as liaising with county offices to provide licenses for childcare centres.
Rome visit: disparities across Italy
On 6 March, ESN’s Policy Director Alfonso Lara Montero visited Rome, where he met with representatives from the education, health and social policy departments of the Lazio region and a number of municipalities and colleagues from the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies in Italy. Participants at the meeting discussed investment in children services and the disparities across Italian regions. They also visited a community centre for vulnerable mothers and their children run by local families with the support of the Lazio region and a community-based flat for young people with disabilities, where they addressed some of the issues in regards to their transition into adulthood, particularly with regard to the link between children and adult services.
Towards the third peer review
The third peer review of the project ‘Investing in Children’s Services, Improving Outcomes’ will analyse the organisation of early childcare, education, health and social services for children in Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Romania. As in previous years, we aim to assess, identify gaps and develop proposals as to how services may be developed in line with the European Commission’s Recommendation ’Investing in Children’.
The event, which is organised in cooperation with ESN member the Directorate for Child Protection and Social Services in Hungary, will be opened by Mr. Karoly Czibere, Minister of Social Affairs, and will bring together representatives from national, regional and local government, and public and not-for-profit children’s services from the five countries.
For more information on the project, visit our website.