Zappone fights for more cash to combat poverty and improve young lives
€4.5m confirmed for community projects for 2017
Statement by Minister Katherine Zappone
Monday 24th April, 2017
The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is to fight for more money to
fund community based projects combatting child poverty.
Minister Katherine Zappone made the commitment as she confirmed €4.5m to
secure the continuation of 13 Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programmes until
the end of this year.
The money will be used to fund services supporting the mental health of
young people, family support, parenting programmes, child development and
speech and language services.
Announcing the funding Minister Zappone said:
“The ABC programme is transforming the lives of children, young people and
families in 13 communities.
The range of services supported on the ground is wide. Ante-natal services,
buddy programmes as well as literacy programmes, teacher training and early
years supports to name but a few.
The funding now confirmed will ensure the continuation of services until
December.
However securing extra funding for existing community based programmes will
be a priority in negotiations on both the estimates and Budget 2018.
Developed with the support of both the Government and Atlantic
Philanthropies the ABC programme has already provided €29.7m for these
community projects.
Securing funding for next year is important to ensure there is no gap in
supports.
It will also allow us to plan for the future by carrying out a national
evaluation to identify programmes, approaches and supports which deliver
for children. That evaluation is already underway.
Consultation with those in the frontline of the ABC services has already
taken place. Their experience on the ground is a central part of that
process.
However I am also keen that the voices of children and young people are
also heard. They must not be excluded.
I expect the result of the national evaluation next year. It will provide
us with an evidenced based approach and a way forward.
Ending child poverty requires a whole of Government approach, and I look
forward to sharing the results of the evaluation with Ministerial
colleagues.”
ENDS//
Notes:
The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a prevention and early
intervention initiative of DCYA and Atlantic Philanthropies. Its aim is to
test and evaluate innovative prevention and early intervention approaches
in areas of disadvantage, to improve outcomes for children and families.
The focus of the work under the ABC Programme covers, in the main, Child
Health & Development, Children’s Learning, Parenting, and Integrated
Service Delivery.
A key aim of the ABC Programme is to ensure that the learning is
mainstreamed into established areas of policy and service provision to
improve outcomes for children and young people in areas of disadvantage and
throughout the country. Work is being actively progressed by the DCYA in
consultation with key stakeholders in the advancement of this aim.