Investing in quality care for children and youth on the move

Recommendations from practitioners participating in the conference “Beyond the emergency: Providing quality care for children and youth on the move across Europe”, Palermo, November 2017

The current funding landscape for providing quality care and integration-related activities to children and youth on the move across Europe is flawed in three ways. First, it is fragmented across various thematic areas, prompting practitioners to finance activities via a range of different funds which undermines the overall potential and sustainability of their activities. Second, as the increased arrival of underage asylum seekers in 2015-16 has shown, there is a lack of long-term investments and funding opportunities beyond the emergency context. Finally, available funding opportunities are often difficult to access for practitioners due to a lack of information or transparency and complex administrative requirements.

Policymakers, legislators and administrators can mitigate these challenges and strengthen the relevance of funds by revisiting their scope and eligibility and increasing practitioners’ awareness and skills to access them. Another vital step is to enhance the design and key features of future funds by conducting ongoing monitoring and comprehensive evaluations, while recognising that thematic research could provide a valuable evidence base for future decisions on the design of funds. The adoption of a new Multi-Annual Financial Framework at EU level for the period 2021- 2027 provides an opportune moment in time to listen to practitioners’ concerns and insights and take their recommendations aboard in order to improve the quality of care and integration trajectories of children and youth on the move across Europe.