Investing in children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage. A study of national policies

Member States with a high (31-35%) [UK, LT, ES, HR, IT, IE, EL8] or very high (40-52%) [LV, HU, RO, BG] proportion of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion face the biggest challenges in reforming their overall approach and strengthening their governance arrangements in line with the Commission Recommendation on investing in children. However, even the Member States with a low (15-21%) [FI, DK, SI, NL, DE, CZ, SE, AT] or medium (22-30%) [EE, FR, BE, LU, SK, CY, PT, PL, MT] proportion of children at risk have areas in which improvements could be made. The Commission Recommendation stresses the importance of countries having a comprehensive set of policies and integrated multi-dimensional strategies, a children's rights approach which leads to effective mainstreaming of children's policies and rights, an effective balance between universal and more targeted policies, the involvement of stakeholders (including children themselves) and an evidence-based approach to policy making. The importance of protecting children from the crisis is also stressed.