Session 5: Child Impact Assessment

There is no such thing as a child-neutral policy Every policy positively or negatively affects the lives of

children To comply with the CRC, the impact on children of

policies, laws and budgetary decisions must be assessed

Introduction

Child impact assessment Is a concrete way to ensure children are placed at the

forefront of political and decision-making agendas Can help prevent harm and minimize the risks of costly

mistakes Is an opportunity to systematically examine the potential

impacts of policies and programmes ex ante – as they are being developed – rather than after they have been put into effect

Serves the best interests of the child and enhances compliance with international commitments to child rights

Child IA

Ensure children are at the heart of policies and projects Without a specific focus on them, children are likely to

be missed. Help governments meet their obligations under

the CRC To meet that commitments under the CRC, they must

first understand what potential impacts their actions may have on children – both positively and negatively

Objectives of Child IA

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends that Child IAs be undertaken: When preparing or implementing new guidelines or

programmes When preparing or implementing new legislation,

regulations or resolutions When preparing or implementing budgets or other

financial estimates on a national, regional and local level.  Whenever there are public proposals that are likely to

have a significant impact on children and their families, including in subject areas that are not necessarily child specific.

When to perform Child IA

Can be integrated into the evaluation level of programme and project cycle management by: Identifying whether a recent Child IA has been

conducted in the countryEnsure its findings can be used for sectoral and

programme accountability and improving the overall responsiveness of programmes

Ensuring findings can be used for lessons learned and directly influence design of new programme priorities

Using CHILD IA to link child rights-related policies to measurable results and impacts.

Implementing Child IA

Steps of performing Child IA

Group Activity

Proposed tax policy in SerbiaIn 2010, to mitigate the effects of falling revenues due to the global economic crisis, the Serbian Government proposed a 4% increase in value added tax (VAT) and a series of other fiscal reforms. UNICEF Serbia commissioned a Belgrade-based research institute to conduct an ex-ante Child IA of the proposed taxation reform.

Case Example

Key stakeholders should be children themselves, as they are best placed to provide information on issues that concern them

Children can improve the quality of impact assessments by, for example: Highlighting issues not considered by others Providing insights into the impacts of policies on different

members of the household Providing insights into issues not seen as priorities by adults Identifying effective mitigation strategies and small-scale

approaches Enabling research on impacts affecting significantly

disadvantaged groups

Consultation with children

See Tool 5.2 for the elements of drafting terms of reference for a Child IA expert or team to conduct the assessment.

Commissioning Child IA