Family Action’s Post

In partnership with NSPCC, today we publish our latest research on early childhood poverty in the UK, as part of our ongoing Early Moments Matter Campaign. Grounded in the experiences of parents with young children and early childhood professionals, the report details the barriers facing UK families on low incomes to access the core early childhood services they need, across maternity, health visiting and family hubs.      The research found that families experiencing poverty face barriers to accessing early childhood services at every level, and that services are often limited, hard to reach, under resourced or unable to support the needs of families experiencing financial hardship. Poverty has a hugely negative impact on a young child’s development, which follows them through their childhood and into adulthood. These vital services are essential in mitigating the impacts of poverty so it’s critical that the UK Government takes action to improve access to early childhood services and reduces the impact of poverty on babies and young children. The upcoming new UK-wide Child Poverty Strategy and the Spring Spending Review create such important opportunities for the leadership, action and investment so urgently needed to support children and families living in poverty across the country. One mother told researchers: “It’s so overwhelming and I haven’t got much food, I haven’t got enough for the kids, but then if someone supports you and points you in the right direction… it’s like a godsend if they tell you that’s available and you’re full of anxiety because you’re on your last £5 and you’ve got children and when they’re telling you towards the right directions that’s amazing, they’re doing the right thing.” With thanks to the team for ensuring the voices and experiences of parents are centred in this research, and to our colleagues in NSPCC for such positive collaboration, driven by our shared commitment to children and their families. Read the full report and our recommendations to government here: https://lnkd.in/e3ikYR87

🚨 New blog post! 🚨 Actions that ensure children get the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential must be at the heart of the Government's Child Poverty Strategy. In our latest blog, we highlight our top priorities for the newly established Child Poverty Unit. We're calling for actions that: 🍽️ Support families afford a healthy diet 👶 Focus on the early years 💷 Promote a cash first approach Read more ➡️

📢 As part of the End Child Poverty Coalition, we are today launching a set of eight tests that the government’s child poverty strategy must meet if it is to deliver on ending child poverty in this country. The strategy must: 1) Put in place legally binding targets to eradicate child poverty in 20 years 2) Make views of babies, children, young people and their families central to both development and implementation 3) Include specific support for children most likely to experience poverty 4) Demonstrate leadership and accountability from the top 5) Be able to operate both regionally and locally as well as across the four nations 6) Have social security reform at its bedrock 7) Outline a new system of employment support for families 8) Set out how the government will resource and reform public services to address child poverty. Michael, a Youth Ambassador for the Coalition aged 19 explains what meeting these 'Tests' for mean for him: “Having grown up in a single-parent family, I have experienced the harsh reality that poverty is more likely to affect children like me. If the Government ensured targeted action for children who are most at risk of poverty, it would make a big difference to children growing up in single-parent families.” 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGYevnYc

Statement from Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery on CPRAC’s Vote to Adopt Recommendations That Will Cut Child Poverty by 50% Across New York State: Today, the New York State Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) voted to adopt a bold roadmap to cut child poverty by 50% by 2032. This package of proven policies—ranging from expanding the Empire State Child Credit to increasing SNAP benefits—has the power to lift 500,000 children in New York out of poverty or near-poverty. Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery, Jr., a member of the Council, emphasized the urgent need for action: “Child poverty is a crisis in New York, with 20% of children living below the federal poverty line. It’s a moral failure, and it comes with a hefty price tag of $60 billion annually. CPRAC’s recommendations offer a roadmap to help as many as half a million children escape or avoid a life in poverty. Albany must act boldly to prioritize our children, our economy, and our future.” The CPRAC recommendations are now with state leaders for consideration in the FY26 budget. Let’s put New York’s children first. Read the full statement: https://lnkd.in/euAUCi8a #FightPoverty

The UK Government has announced a new Taskforce to prepare a new Child Poverty Action Plan. Crucially they are also creating a new Child Poverty Unit in Whitehall where they are bringing together officials to work across government to address child poverty. The Irish Government created a similar Child Poverty Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach. It has been a really important endeavour in concentrating the right talent and expertise together to help push for actions across government. This move is good news for children and young people in the UK including Northern Ireland where 1-5 are living below the poverty line. Poverty rates are higher around the Irish border. The Irish and UK Child Poverty Units are well-placed to support children and young people in this region and across the island. https://lnkd.in/e-HpaKsy.

Fighting Child Poverty: The Power of Head Start This ABC-TV report reveals worrying statistics about child poverty in Ohio. Families like Taisha Suggs' are working hard but still struggle to meet basic needs. Programs like Head Start are making a difference by providing critical support for both children and parents. Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm of Step Forward says it best: “At Head Start, we feed the children, we educate the children. We even educate the parents.” Addressing childhood poverty starts with giving families the tools they need to succeed. Learn more about the challenges Ohio families face and how programs like Head Start are a lifeline in ABC News 5 Cleveland: https://bit.ly/3Uh3pMV October is #HeadStartAwareness Month! #EndChildPoverty #EarlyHeadStart Step Forward @OhioHeadStart #Region5HeadStartAssociation #EarlyHeadStart

This new report explores the impact of poverty and benefit conditionality on families’ mental health. Based on research with parents and children, and a review of the evidence, the report finds that children are being failed by the state’s inability to combat the dual crises of poverty and mental health. A collaboration between the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition, Centre for Mental Health and Save the Children UK, they call on the Government to: Tackle the root causes of mental ill health: Commit to a cross-government strategy for mental health in England that addresses the underlying causes of mental ill health, such as poverty. This strategy should align with cross- governmental strategies to address child poverty. - Increase financial support for families: Introduce a ‘child lock’ by double locking children’s social security entitlements to increase either by earnings or inflation (if inflation exceeds earnings). This will ensure children are protected during periods of high inflation and stand to benefit during periods of growth. - Reform conditionality and employment support: Lock in protections for families by exempting claimants with health conditions, single parents, and parents of young children from sanctions. - Increase and lock in available support: Ensure the full roll out of family hubs across all local authority areas in England. All family hubs should have access to financial support, employment support, and welfare advice for families. - Fund the mental health system: Provide £1.7 billion in increased investment to Integrated Care Systems in England to deliver a comprehensive pathway of mental health support for all children and young people. - Roll out mental health support in schools: Commit to, and fund, the full roll out of Mental Health Support Teams across all schools and colleges in England. #charity #diversity #inclusion #equality #London #equity #mentalhealth #families #financialsupport #employment #schools #proverty #children #youngpeople https://lnkd.in/em-vFBp3

Communities and Place Committee met last week (Wednesday 27 November 2024) and Members agreed the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report which includes actions for delivery in 2024/25. Reducing child poverty is a priority for the Council and its partners. A core priority within the Council’s Programme is: • Tackle child poverty and promote access to welfare support. Reducing poverty is also a core theme within Highland’s Integrated Children’s Service Plan which sits within a context of the Community Planning Partnership and delivering against the Highland Outcome Improvement Plan. The priorities for addressing child poverty in Highland are set out the Integrated Children’s Services Plan and reported in the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report. Communities and Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: “There is a strong commitment in Highland to address poverty and inequality. The vision for the Community Planning Partnership through its Highland Outcome Improvement Plan is ‘To work together to reduce inequality within Highland communities’ and requires the continuation of a holistic whole system approach to poverty. “The impact of poverty varies across the demography/geography of Highland, including rural and urban poverty that impacts our families and communities, and we must continue to strive to address poverty at all social levels particularly during this extremely challenging time for members of our society.” The Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report details progress against the priorities set out in the Integrated Children’s Service Plan which runs from 2023/24 – 2025/26. Poverty is a standalone theme, but this also crosscuts across the other themes of the plan, including child protection, health and wellbeing, drugs and alcohol and corporate parenting. It also recognises that child poverty cannot be seen in isolation and that poverty is experienced in many guises. Read the report (Item 8): https://lnkd.in/eeyvGuqf

NEW PROJECT: Centre for Public Policy secures funding for major anti-poverty project Funded by The Robertson Trust, the 18-month project will assess poverty in Scotland as a multi-level, multi-sector grand policy challenge, detailing the impact of siloed decision making on people living with poverty and use an innovative policy lab approach to drive solutions. ➡️ Read more about the project: https://lnkd.in/ezM3cBW8 This research will put people at the heart of understanding the cumulative and intersectional impact of policy and budget choices on those living in poverty. When social security, housing, public services, employment, and childcare policy decisions are made in isolation, they fail to address the complex reality of people’s lives. Neither the mission-focused programme of the UK Labour Government, including the Child Poverty Taskforce, nor the First Minister’s ‘central mission’ to eradicate child poverty, can be achieved unilaterally. 📢 Professor Kezia Dugdale, Associate Director of the Centre for Public Policy, said: “Too often, people experiencing poverty fall through the gaps created by fragmented policies and disconnected systems. This project aims to shine a light on these failures and work collaboratively to design policies that put people, not processes, at the heart of decision-making." The project will draw on insights from The Robertson Trust, The Poverty Alliance, and additional expertise from partners across sectors to build a more inclusive and impactful policy framework. 📨 Sign up to our newsletter to keep up with this work: https://lnkd.in/ejE3fczP

New research from End Child Poverty shows that Tower Hamlets has the second highest rate of child poverty in the UK. 48% of local children—more than 38k kids—are living in poverty. https://lnkd.in/egZG8iJs We know that policies actively push families into poverty. This data shows how the two-child limit is linked to child poverty. In addition to ranking 2nd in child poverty nationally, both of Tower Hamlet’s constituencies are in the top-10 list of the highest proportion of kids impacted by the two-child limit (18%).    As a member of the End Child Poverty Coalition, along with more than 120 other organisations, we call on all parties to commit to scrapping the two-child limit to benefit payments, lifting 300,000 children out of poverty. #EndChildPoverty #AllKidsCount https://lnkd.in/eqGV5JQq