The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) presents a round-up of the latest developments in child and family policy in EU member states in April 2020.

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Each piece of news contains a link to the original source, which may be in a language other than English. In most cases, they are press releases from the relevant ministries.

Austria: Launch of educational media platform

The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) have launched Edutube - an educational streaming platform. The website was launched with the aim of improving digital teaching.

So far, the platform includes 800 digital resources, which includes magazine articles and documentaries and are based on Austrian curriculum requirements. The platform will be added to during the course of the year.

Austria: Increase to the family hardship fund

The government has increased the family hardship fund (Familienhärtefonds) by €30 million which will go towards supporting people who are unemployed or working part-time in Austria.

The increase was particularly designed to provide more support for families, particularly those with single parents, who may be facing sudden unemployment or have less access to care support from extended family, due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Belgium: Temporary shelters for children in danger

In collaboration with the Office of Birth and Infancy (ONE) and the commissioner with responsibility for the rights of children (le Délégué général aux Droits de l’Enfant), the Belgian government has founded special types of temporary accommodation services which will provide shelter to children who are at risk of violence or danger due to the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing lockdown.

The shelters will be open from 24 April until 30 June, with 16 places available for children aged up to 6 years old and 39 places available for children aged between 6 and 18.

Croatia: Government communication on domestic violence

The Croatian government has issued a communication informing citizens about how to be alert for and respond to possible instances of domestic violence. The communication highlights behaviours that may indicate domestic violence and by providing information on how various government bodies are able to respond.

The communication was created due to the increased risk of domestic violence during the COVID-19 crisis

Denmark: Initiatives to support socially vulnerable children

The Danish parliament have passed a number of initiatives that are designed to support vulnerable children through the additional challenges that they may face during the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives will be funded by approximately DKK 215 million (nearly €29 million) and aim to support vulnerable children, including those living with people with drug or alcohol dependency and those in families where members have various (including mental) illnesses.

In addition, the funding will include grants to non-governmental organisations that support vulnerable children in childcare and schools and that  provide student counselling to vulnerable students.

Estonia: Allowance for parents of children with special needs

The Estonian government has introduced an allowance to support parents of children with disabilities who need to take time off to support their children’s education and care at home during the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting school closures.

The allowance will amount to 70% of the average income that the parent receives through their normal work and will be supported by €10 million that is provided from the 2020 Estonian state budget.

Estonia: Support for children with rare diseases and foster families

The Estonian parliament (Riigikogu) has passed amendments that will increase the financial support received by foster families and will ensure that children with rare diseases will receive an allowance equivalent of that received by children with disabilities. From July 2020, foster families will receive at least half of the national minimum wage per child fostered (equivalent to at least €240 per month).

These measures aim to mitigate the additional costs associated with treatment and maintenance and support the development of family-based alternative care for children.

Finland: Food support for low-income families with children

A number of Finnish foundations and unions have joined forces to launch a campaign entitled Lunch for Every Child (Jokaiselle lapselle lounas). The campaign aims to support low-income families with children who may be struggling to provide food during the school closures caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Launched on 23 March, campaign workers distribute food bags to families. The food bags are intended to contain enough ingredients to feed a family nutritious meals for a week and are valued at €90 each.

France: Telephone and online support for families

The ministry with responsibility for health (Ministre des Solidarités et de la Santé) has announced an action plan to support parents through isolation during the COVID-19 crisis, in conjunction with the CNAF (Caisse nationale d’allocations familiales). The action plan includes committing €500,000 towards strengthening parenting support structures, including by improving access to hotlines and support parents in teleworking.

The CNAF has also included a number of leisure and education activities on their website that can be undertaken by families who are staying at home. In order to further support families and to prevent violence against children during this time, the CNAF has also announced that families will be able to access an eight-module course of the parenting guidance programme Triple P free of charge until 11 May.

France: Allowances for low-income families with children

The French family benefits office (Caisse des Allocations Familiales) have announced that people who receive income support (Revenue de Solidarité Active) and special solidarity allowance (allocation de solidarité) will be granted a lump sum of €150 (source: CNAF).

In addition, these individuals, along with families who receive housing benefit, will be granted an additional lump sum of €100 for each dependent child under 20 years in the household.

These payments are designed to support families with low income during the COVID-19 crisis. The French government estimates that these payments will be provided to 4.1 million households, including 5 million children.

France: Measures to prevent violence against children during isolation

A number of French ministries (including those with responsibility for justice, interior affairs and the family) have worked together to outline measures that will be introduced to protect children who are at increased risk of violence due to the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing lockdown in France.

Since the period of lockdown began, the government reports that there has been an 89% increase in the number of calls to the national helpline for child protection (Service National d’Accueil Téléphonique pour l’Enfance en Danger). As a result, new government measures include increasing the number of workers manning these national hotlines and setting up alert systems in pharmacies to allow children to report violence.

Germany: Report on right-wing extremism targeting children  

On 16 April, a report was launched which examined the activities of right-wing extremist groups on social media and their targeting of young people. Prepared and published by the federal agency for the protection of minors (Jugendschutz), the report identifies that social media are the main field of action for right-wing extremists and that such groups can reach millions of young people through music, videos, and memes which are shared on platforms that do not have regulatory measures.

Germany: Expansion of helplines for children and young people  

The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs has expanded a number of  projects that provide counselling, support and advice to children, parents and young people, in light of increased demand due to the COVID-19 crisis. This has included increased funding of €225,000 for the ‘Numbers against Grief” (Nummer gegen Kummer) national telephone and online advice hotline.

In addition, the ministry has expanded the services provided by the digital advisory service ‘Sofahopper’, which supports children and young people at risk of homelessness, to include online advice from social workers and more opportunities for young people to receive online and telephone advice.

Greece: Measures to support digital learning  

The ministry of education has launched a number of initiatives to improve learning for children and young people during the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting school closures. As of 8 April, mobile internet access to digital platforms used by the ministry of education for remote learning in schools will be free to access.

The ministry has also launched educational television programmes which will air on national television and are mainly targeted at primary school children.

Ireland: Online resources for learning and play launched

The Ministry for Children and Youth Affairs has launched two initiatives designed to support children and families during the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting lockdown and school closures. One initiative, entitled ‘Parents Centre’, includes a range of online resources that aim to support parents in helping their children learn at home. The other is called Let’s Play Ireland and provides resources to help children and young people play at home.

Luxembourg: New family support leave introduced

The Luxembourg government has introduced paid family support leave (un congé pour soutien familial rémunéré) that is designed to support workers in the private sector and who are self-employed who need to take leave in order to care for a disabled person or an elderly person who can no longer be looked after in an institution due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Slovakia: Leaflets disseminated to prevent domestic violence

The ministry with responsibility for family has collaborated with a number of coordination centres against domestic violence to produce and disseminate a leaflet that is designed to help people facing domestic violence.

The leaflets, entitled ‘Stop violence even at the time of isolation’ (Zastavme násilie v čase izolácie), provide brief information on the signs of domestic violence and how victims can get help and they are distributed in food shops and pharmacies.

This initiative was launched to counter the rise in domestic violence seen in Slovakia during COVID-19 crisis and ongoing societal lockdown. 

United Kingdom: Extra support for vulnerable children

The United Kingdom government has allocated more than £12 million (approximately €13.6 million) to 14 projects that are designed to tackle the increased risk some children and young people are facing during the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting school closures and societal lockdown.

These projects will focus on supporting children and families who are at risk of domestic abuse, who are at risk of exploitation, who are in care, and who require mental health support.

Eurochild: New project to tackle anti-Roma prejudice

A new project entitled '4Children-by-Children' has been launched as part of the DOSTA! campaign: a joint programme by the European Commission and the Council of Europe that aims to raise awareness about and prevent anti-Roma prejudice.

The new project takes a child-centred approach and provides learning material that is aimed to help schools and teachers to address anti-Roma discrimination. These materials can be found on the Council of Europe website.