Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1140. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to examine service providers in areas of high disadvantage and high deprivation with a view to introducing a scheme similar to DEIS in primary and secondary schools. [34101/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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In recognition of the higher risks and life-long consequences of disadvantage and child poverty, the Government set a child-specific poverty target in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020 to reduce consistent child poverty by at least two-thirds by 2020. This figure currently represents 102,000 children.

Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures is a whole of government policy framework, which requires all Departments and Agencies to work collaboratively to improve outcomes for children and young people . The Children and Young People’s Policy Consortium, which I chair, has responsibility for whole of government implementation, and includes representatives from all government Departments and Agencies.

The Department of Social Protection has the lead role in coordinating government strategies on child poverty and deprivation. It also has lead responsibility for the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion and has identified child poverty as a key cross-sectoral priority to be addressed. Officials in my Department are working closely with the Department of Social Protection in informing the development of this cross-sectoral priority.

My Department is developing a Single Affordable Childcare Scheme to provide families with quality childcare at a cost they can afford. Budget 2017 provided additional funding for the scheme’s development and initial roll-out, to include both a targeted and a universal element. Subsidies will be available for children aged from 6 months up to 15 years and will meet families’ full-time and part-time childcare needs, including outside of school hours and during school holiday time. The highest levels of subsidy will be provided to those on low incomes, helping families to overcome disadvantage and contribute to a reduction in child poverty.

The Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative led by my Department. The Programme commenced in 2013 and was designed as a time-bound co-funding arrangement for the period 2013 to 2017 in conjunction with The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The aim of the ABC Programme is to test and evaluate prevention and early intervention approaches to improve outcomes for children and families living in 13 areas of disadvantage in Dublin and throughout the country.

The Programme is currently being evaluated at a national level, by the Centre for Effective Services (CES). Data is being collected locally, at the area-level so as to assess the success and effectiveness of the totality of the investment across the five broad outcomes of the Programme.

Three national programme outcomes concern the achievement of outcomes for individual children and their parents participating in ABC-funded services;

I.Improved child health and development;

II. Improved children’s learning;

III. Improved parenting.

The remaining two outcomes are concerned with achieving systems change among service providers, focusing on:

I. Integrated service delivery;

II. Services embedded in mainstream services.

The national evaluation report will be produced in 2018. However, preliminary findings will be identified in the coming months and these findings will inform any future considerations regarding the development of targeted responses to issues of deprivation and disadvantage.

I and my colleagues in Cabinet are committed to advancing these efforts and actions in our collective response to addressing child poverty and disadvantage.