Policy Brief How can Early Childhood Education and Care policies empower citizens? Recommendations for an effective EU agenda

Francesco Corti and Cinzia Alcidi – EuSocialCit scholars affiliated with CEPS – published a policy brief that addresses the issue of the empowering citizens through Early Childhood Education and Care policies.

By relieving parents from caring responsibilities and by investing in human capabilities at the very earliest stages of life, early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies have great potential to help future adults and parents prepare for and to face social risks. The first few years of a child’s life can be key in shaping both their development and their parents’ (especially the mother’s) reintegration into the labour market. But is this the case in reality?

This policy brief and its recommendations build on the research, evidence and policy analysis conducted in WP3 of the EuSocialCit project, especially on the following deliverables:

• EU social investment agenda: what does it mean for citizens’ social rights?
• Empowering children: childcare services in a rights-based comparative perspective
• Understanding participation in early childhood education and care: rights, policies and socio-economic conditions (forthcoming)
• The Recovery and Resilience Facility as marble cake to strengthen European social citizenship? The case of childcare policies.