Children out of the limelight Child poverty and child-well being in the European Union A case study : France Michel LEGROS EHESP

Child poverty: a neglected issue  A very extremely topical subject in the 19th century  Post 1945, implementation of family-targeted policies  « Children aren’t poor, many of them live in poor families »  Children concerned by social policies are abandonned, mistreated, subject to violence and sexual abuse  1998 Law combating exclusion and 2005 Social cohesion law : no specific policy target for reducing child poverty  2 ou 3 reports between mid-1990s and 2005

At risk of poverty: a comparative advantage and a slight disadvantage  Overall population UE 16.6  Overall population Fr 13.1  Children UE19.1  Children Fr15.3 EU-SILC 2007

Child poverty determinants  Children living in single-parent families  Children living in large families (4 children) (34)  Children living in jobless households  When parents were born outside the EU  Children between 12 and 17 years old  Children living in deprived areas

A family targeted policy based on transfers  Maternity and family benefits: around 6% of the GDP  17 different benefits available to assist families  Childcare facilities: collective and individual services  Toward a statutory right to childcare

A system of redistributing income that works (nearly)  Poverty rate before transfers Couples 1 ch. 11 Couples 3 ch. 33 Couples Single par. 1 ch. 35 Single par. 3 ch. 71  Poverty rate after transfers

Toward a new policy  A target of reducing poverty around a third by  Not referred explicitly to child poverty.  Indicators used to monitor progress are broken down by age-group.  A social minima reform: creation of active solidarity income improving access to employment – single families.