Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

12. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on his Department resourcing the area based childhood programme when the matched funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies is withdrawn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27320/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is an innovative prevention and early intervention initiative. It consists of committed funding for an area-based approach to improve outcomes for children and thereby reduce child poverty. The programme builds on and continues the work of the Prevention and Early Intervention Programme 2007 - 2013 which was co-funded by the my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The ABC Programme involves joint investment of my Department and The Atlantic Philanthropies of €29.7m in evidence-informed interventions to improve the long-term outcomes for children and families living in disadvantaged areas. It aims to break the cycle of child poverty within areas where it is most deeply entrenched and where children are most disadvantaged, through integrated and effective services and interventions in the areas of child development, child well-being, parenting and educational disadvantage.

The ABC Programme is time-bound and the co-funding arrangement between Government and The Atlantic Philanthropies is in place until 2017.

A key purpose of the ABC Programme is to identify the learning in and across the ABC sites and to transfer this learning into existing and established services. Adopting such a systems focus, rather than merely a site or geographic specific focus, is the intention so that we can ensure a greater reach and sustained impact in services across the country. What I want to ensure is that, rather than creating parallel provision, the learning from this programme informs the ongoing reform of established services and supports for children and young people. Mainstreaming the learning in this way will bring improvements, not only in specific areas, but across the wider system, thereby addressing all areas of disadvantage. A Task Group has been established to explore how best to mainstream the learning where programmes and activities have proven more effective than existing provision.

The ABC Programme is currently being evaluated under the guidance of an Expert Advisory Group. The evaluation adopts a shared measurement framework across all ABC programme sites. The evaluation will consider the implementation and cost of programmes, and crucially how the outcomes for children and families in Area Based Childhood areas have changed during the course of the programme.

This evaluation will be crucial in indicating the impact of the ABC Programme, and along with the work of the Task Group will be key in informing considerations regarding the mainstreaming of the learning from this programme.