Problem addressed
The installation of crèches in Hungary is compulsory only in locations with more than 10 000 inhabitants, as per the national child protection law. Prior to the launch of Sure Start Children’s Houses, care for infants and toddlers up to three years of age was therefore not available in all municipalities. National statistics show that poor families are more likely to live in small towns, and especially in villages (under 10 000 inhabitants). Furthermore, crèches are foreseen as day care for the children of parents who are working, but parents from low-income households are more often unemployed. In 2021, about 56 000 children in 2 320 (out of 3 200) municipalities in the country did not have access to nursery care locally, in their place of residence. At the same time, a wide body of research and evidence has highlighted the importance of early childhood development for success in future life, especially for disadvantaged children, including from families with low educational attainment and/or employment, and inadequate living or housing conditions.
Innovative solution
Sure Start Children’s House was introduced in 2003 to support children living in extreme poverty, including Roma children. It was first supported and developed with external funding, primarily from the ESF and the Norwegian Fund. In 2013, it was incorporated into the Hungarian Basic Child Welfare Services Act and has since formed part of the Hungarian system of social services. By 2021, a total of 188 Sure Start Children’s Houses were operating throughout the country. Each Sure Start Children's House works with an average of 10 children and their parents on a regular basis.
The innovative aspect of Sure Start Children’s House is that it targets both children and parents. Its range of services includes child-friendly activities such as painting, cooking, reading and playing outdoor games. Nurses, paediatricians, educators and social workers offer guidance to parents in relation to parenting skills, personal hygiene, healthy nutrition, household management and personal development. These interventions compensate for developmental delays and support children’s healthy development, facilitating children’s integration into kindergarten, when they turn three.
The programme closes a structural gap in offering support in locations where no other care options exist for children aged 0-3 and the proportion of disadvantaged children is high.
The Hungarian government leads Sure Start Children’s Houses. It provides the necessary funding, and the Ministry of the Interior oversees all such Houses. It also offers staff training and facilitates networking and horizontal learning. The government’s Directorate-General for Social Opportunities supports a mentoring network of qualified professionals and consultants, who visit the Sure Start Children’s Houses at least once a month. The Hungarian Statistical Office collects, analyses and publishes data on the programme. Sure Start Children’s House services are run by local authorities, such as local governments and associations for the maintenance of municipal institutions, as well as charities and NGOs. The service is not compulsory in every municipality, but depends on local social needs and demand, in line with government and local development strategies.
Key results and benefits
The Hungarian Government continuously monitors Sure Start Children’s Houses through statistical data that are used to clarify funding needs, select applications for new Children’s Houses, and adapt legislation.
In 2016, the Hungarian Research Institute and Centre for Economic and Social Analysis (HÉFTA), carried out a comprehensive impact evaluation. The results were presented in several government forums and to service providers, and were used for decision-making and to amend legislation.
The impact evaluation carried out by the HÉFTA research institute showed that the services of the Sure Start Children’s Houses are well received and integrated into local community life, and that the programme adapts well to local municipal requirements and specificities, for example in terms of the location of the Children's House, either in the close vicinity of the housing of families in need, or in the centre of the municipality, to ensure easy access for the target group. The programme is able to effectively reach out to disadvantaged children and their parents and provide important services for children's development. The children involved showed stronger social skills, better adaptability, a larger vocabulary and increased mobility. These positive effects can only be expected where parents and their children attend the nursery regularly.
Parents in the programme were found to be more likely to establish daily routines in their children’s lives, learn to play with their children, and develop a more accepting and self-reliant parenting attitude. Their problem-solving skills and adaptability also benefitted. Finally, parents developed a sense of cooperation between institutions, support professionals and other parents, reducing their isolation and increasing their network of contacts.
Potential for mainstreaming
The idea to offer care services for disadvantaged children between 0-3 years and their parents so as to strengthen early development can be transferred to other contexts. However, it is important to assess local conditions first, such as the presence of disadvantaged residents and children in the municipality, or the disadvantaged situation of the municipality or micro-region. Sure Start Children’s House was successful because it filled structural gaps, building on needs assessments conducted in collaboration with family and child welfare centres, (one of the basic institutions of the child protection and welfare system in Hungary), nursing services, special education teachers, speech therapists etc.
Also the training curriculum applied to prepare the Sure Start Children’s House employees for their work is transferable, putting emphasis on the development of competencies such as assertive communication and conflict management, positive engagement with parents, empowerment of project participants and the integration of the Sure Start Children’s House into the local community, through the development of formal relationships with relevant stakeholders active in the same location.
The fact that the initiative was developed gradually also contributed to its success. It started as a pilot and was continuously monitored and updated with new learning. Professional support and follow-up offered by the various government entities involved, as well as the mentoring network, was particularly important in adding new elements while maintaining the original objective.
Growing research and policy attention on the significance of early childhood development was also a success factor. Hungary committed to the development and expansion of the Sure Start Children’s House services through national strategic documents, such as the Hungarian National Inclusion Strategy 2030. EU funding enabled the expansion of the service to new municipalities.
