Best practices

CaixaProinfancia Programme

Actions to transform and promote the development of children and of families facing social exclusion

Problem

Children from poor homes have worse academic results and, when they are adults, lower levels of income and worse health than children who grow up in homes without economic hardship

The child poverty level has settled  in Spain at around 29%, one of the highest percentages in the European Union, meaning that almost one third of Spanish children survive on 60% or less of the equivalent median income.

The percentage of children aflected by material deprivation has not fallen despite the recovery of the economy. Thus, almost 40% live in households that cannot aflord one week’s holiday a year.

In view of these data, studies show that concentrating social transfers in childhood is more eflicient to alleviate child poverty than channelling them to the entire population based on income.

1. Approach

The programme is introduced in a coordinated way with the public and the private stakeholders of the territory based on certain objectives for the children and their families

Organisations in territorial networks apply the various aids available in the programme in keeping with the workplan.

The families attended have a level of studies of primary school or lower in almost 80% of cases, and  a situation of unemployment close to 65%, with almost equal parts receiving or not receiving public benefits. Of these, almost half are single-parent families.

54% of the guardians were born abroad, while 83% of the children were born in Spain. 100% of the families are in a situation of poverty.

2. Results

The data show that the programme covers a large part of the territory and fulfils the objective of supporting families experiencing poverty

More than 300,000 children and 176,000 families are attended. 39% of the children attended are aged between 7 and 12, but children between 0 and 3 years of age account for 25%, a figure that highlights the importance of care at this age.

The aids oflered by the programme are divided in the following way: 42% on educational reinforcement; 27% on food and hygiene; 19% on leisure and free-time activities; 9% on psychotherapeutic care and 3% on educational support for the family. The average continuity in the programme is 3.8 years.

The aids are implemented through 180 territorial networks made up of more than 400 social associations reaching 129 Spanish municipalities in all the autonomous communities.

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