Children Affected by Poverty and Social Exclusion

Around the world, poverty and social exclusion are driving factors behind the placement of children into alternative care.  Families give up their children because they are too poor to care for them, or they feel that it is the best way to help them to access basic services such as education and health care. Discrimination and cultural taboos mean that girls, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities, children with HIV/AIDS and children born out of wedlock, make up a disproportionate number of children abandoned into alternative care.

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New Economics Foundation,

This report exposes the severe harm temporary accommodation inflicts on children’s health, education, and wellbeing, with over 160,000 affected across England and rising numbers in London, particularly Southwark. It calls for urgent reforms—including stronger accountability, better inter-agency coordination, and dedicated support roles—to protect children’s rights and prevent lasting damage.

Yusra Ribhi Shawar, Joseph Mumba Zulu ,

Given the severe impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and chronic poverty, the care of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) is a significant national issue in Zambia. This article examines the evolution of governance and policy for the care of OVC and identifies the factors that have shaped Zambia’s priority for and capacity to address this issue.

Catholic Relief Services,

The Qualitative Assessment of How the 3B/4D Social Cohesion Approach Effects Disability-Related Social Exclusion in Zambia by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) highlights the Inclusive Family Strengthening (IFS) project's significant impact on reducing disability-related social exclusion. The project utilized introspection, intragroup and intergroup connections, and action to foster empathy, acceptance, and support for children with disabilities.

Amir Murtaza, Justin Rogers,

This article explores the complex landscape of alternative care for orphaned and vulnerable children in Afghanistan against the backdrop of prolonged conflict, political turmoil and socio-economic challenges.

Emily Ruehs-Navarro (Ed), Lina Caswell Muñoz (Ed), Sarah Diaz (Ed),

This interdisciplinary work brings together voices from the legal realm, the academic world, and the on-the-ground experiences of activists and practitioners. At the heart of these narratives lies a crucial debate: the tension between harm-reduction strategies and abolition.

Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the INSPIRE Working Group, International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN),

Case studies from Peru, Cambodia and DRC provide lessons on how income support can contribute to keeping children safe.

Margherita Squarcina, Alessandro Carraro - United Nations,

This study examines the socioeconomic determinants of COVID-19-induced poverty among households with children in refugee-hosting districts of Uganda, comparing refugee and host households. It also investigates the role of social assistance in preventing poverty.

Center for the Study of Social Policy,

In this webinar, community providers discussed the challenges they face in providing responsive services, including building evidence and operating in the context of restrictive “evidence-based” standards, as well as recommendations for actions state and federal policymakers can take to ensure all families have the support they need through expanding access and availability of programs that are developed by and for communities of color.

Esi Hutchful - Center for the Study of Social Policy,

Ensuring child and family well-being requires a radically different, anti-racist response of supports that center the voices of diverse children and families of color, are dignified and strengths-based, and that are offered in spaces they trust. As this brief highlights, community-based organizations across the U.S. are striving to answer that call despite numerous barriers. This brief lifts up the voices of those community providers, with the goal of highlighting and addressing the barriers that stand in the way of all families having the support they need.

Rajshree Chanchal, Ajit Kumar Lenka,

The article grapples with the tacit interplay of poverty, caste, and gender and its effects on the education of children in a village. It explores how pandemic-induced school closure impacted the life chances of marginalised children during and after the pandemic in the ‘deprived geography’ of rural Madhya Pradesh, India.