Sofia, April 27, 2021
The National Network for Children (NNC) presented the tenth edition of the monitoring report "Report Card: What is the average success of the state in child care?"
Average 3.09. is the overall assessment of the work of the state and institutions in 2020. The same is the average estimate for the past decade.
The presentation of this year's "Report Card" took place on April 27, 2021 on 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 the National Network for Children and Children from the Megafon Youth Network will take part in the presentation.
The Report Card is an independent report that assesses the progress of public policies for children through fact-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, Child Health, Education, Sports, Recreation and Leisure. It also includes specific recommendations for the future work of the state and institutions.
Authors of Report Card 2021 are 39 experts from civil society organizations and 7 external evaluators. Through the conducted surveys, 700 children, young people, parents and professionals, as well as children-surveyors from the National Eurochild Forum were involved in the formation of the assessments and recommendations.
The children and the pandemic
The focus of Report Card 2021 is on 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 systems even more visible. Some of the anti-epidemic measures were introduced without taking into account the negative effects on children's health. Closure and social exclusion have also led to a significant increase in domestic violence levels.
Analysis of financial investments
For the first time in the framework of the Report Card an analysis of the financial investments of the Bulgarian state in children for the last four years was made. Between 2017 and 2020, spending on children and families increased their share of GDP from 4.1% to 4.7%, the analysis notes. The growth is entirely due to an increase in education funds, with funds allocated to health care even reducing their share in GDP by 0.1 percentage points. If equal funds were allocated for each child, in 2017 this would be BGN 3,344 per child, which is equal to 3.95% of GDP, or 7.60% of all public expenditures. In 2021, this would be BGN 4,718 per child, which is equal to 4.7% of the projected GDP and 11.7% of the expected total public expenditures.
The full financial report will be presented soon.
An overview of the past decade
In addition to last year's estimates, this year's Report Card 2021 also provides an overview of what has been achieved in children's policies over the past 10 years, highlighting the main accents, problem areas and successes of 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 deterioration in all areas affecting children's policies and a serious departure from the commitments made to guarantee their rights.
Evaluations by areas and main conclusions of the report:
Participation of children - average 3.06
Child welfare - average 3.19
Family environment and alternative care - average 3.12
Protection of the child from all forms of violence - average 2.50
Justice for children - average 3.10
Early childhood development - average
3.22 Child health - average 3.09
Education - good 3.71
Sports, recreation and leisure - average 2.75
