National Network for Children presented the tenth edition of the monitoring report “What is the Average Government Score for Childcare?”
Average 3.09. (on a scale of 2 to 6) is the overall assessment of the work of the state and institutions in 2020. The same is the average grade estimated for the past decade.
The presentation of Report card took place on April 27, 2021, with Live streaming. Special guests of the event were Dr. Jane Muita, UNICEF Representative for Bulgaria, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Velina Todorova, Deputy Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Experts from National Network for Children and children from the Megaphone Youth Network took part in the presentation.
The Report card is an independent document that assesses the progress of public policies for children through evidence-based analysis in 9 areas: Child Participation, Child Welfare, Family Environment and Alternative Care, Protection from All Forms of Violence, Justice for Children, Early Childhood Development, Children’s Health, Education, Sports, Recreation and Leisure. It also includes specific recommendations for the future work of the state and institutions.
Authors of the 2021 Report card were 39 experts from civil society organizations and 7 external evaluators. Through the conducted surveys 700 children, young people, parents and professionals, as well as the children-reporters from the National Eurochild Forum, took part in the formation of the assessments and recommendations.
The focus in Report 2021 is the topic of children and the pandemic and how it affects their well-being in all areas. The pandemic has made the gaps and lack of coordination between the systems even more visible. The children were not a priority support group at any time, the report said.
For the first time within the Report an analysis of the financial investments of the Bulgarian state in children for the period 2017-2020 was made.
The 2021 edition also contains an overview of what has been achieved in children’s policies over the last 10 years, highlighting the main problem areas and successes for the decade. The results of the evaluations over the years show that there is still a lack of a comprehensive vision for the well-being of children in Bulgaria. Moreover, the last four years have seen a deterioration in all areas affecting children’s policies and a serious withdrawal from the commitments made to guarantee their rights.
Read the full report here (EN)
