Child poverty policies ineffective in the Netherlands: Report

The Dutch policies on fighting childhood poverty are ineffective and need to be revised, social and economic council SER said in advice to the upcoming government. Despite numerous efforts by government and various organizations, child poverty is structural in the Netherlands, according to SER. While other countries manage to reduce it, NU.nl reports.

In 2014 a total of 378 thousand kids in the Netherlands grew up in poverty. Remarkably 219 thousand of these kids live in a home where at least one parent has a paying job. According to SER chairman Mariette Hamer, in these cases the parents simply earn to little. "In addition, these parents make too little use of the available amenities and some of them also have to deal with debt."

The SER's advice includes appointing a poverty manager in each municipality. This manager can help improve the cooperation between the different institutes and simply procedures. The manager must also help low-income household find their way to services that can help.