Cantons and cities want to improve the situation of children living in poverty
Published: Thursday, Oct 17th 2024, 09:40
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The cantons and cities want to combat child poverty. To this end, the basic needs for families with children are to be increased and the calculation adjusted. In addition, the needs of children are to be better taken into account in social welfare.
The social assistance rate for under-18s was 4.8 percent in 2022, the highest of all age groups, as announced by the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Social Affairs (SODK), the Swiss Conference for Social Assistance (SKOS) and Städteinitiative Sozialpolitik in a joint communiqué on Thursday.
This means that around 76,000 children and young people were dependent on social welfare in 2022. The three committees therefore commissioned a study from the Bureau for Labor and Social Policy Studies (BASS) in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of children in social welfare.
Services inadequate
The study came to the conclusion that there was a need for action in terms of the amount and structure of social welfare benefits. This is because these contributions are "insufficient" to guarantee children an adequate standard of living, it said.
There are two reasons for this: Firstly, the basic requirement increases too little for each additional child in a household. This means that it remains too low, especially for families with several children.
In addition, the same level of support is provided for small children as for young people. As a result, the basic needs of family households tend to be set so low that it is hardly possible to ensure their livelihood. The study therefore proposes age-dependent benefits in social welfare.
Opportunities for promotion made more difficult
There is also a need for improvements in the advice and support provided to children on social welfare. They are often disadvantaged in terms of their social integration and access to school support services. This makes it more difficult for them to get a good education, which could help them to break out of poverty.
And finally, there are major local differences in "situational support services" such as music lessons or sport. However, it is precisely these that are of great importance for the child's well-being.
Higher costs for child welfare
The authors of the study formulated a total of 14 recommendations. The responsible committees of the SODK, SKOS and Städteinitiative Sozialpolitik have already approved the essence of these recommendations.
They are aware that the implementation of the proposals would lead to higher costs in social welfare. But for them, the implementation of children's rights, the well-being of children and the appropriate coverage of children's specific needs are more important.
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