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"Whatever you are,
be a good one." - Abraham Lincoln
OFF TO A SURE START IN
BRITAIN
The Labour government in Britain has made a strong commitment to supporting
families in their child rearing responsibilities. It has increased public
spending on financial support to children by 64%, to $41 billion, since it came
to power in 1997. Recently, it announced an extra $1.7 billion for child
care, advice for parents, and cash benefits.
The program introduced to channel these investments is called Sure Start. This
program has several strands. One, aimed at 400,000 children in the poorest
fifth of the country, provides free spaces in high-quality nurseries and creches,
coupled with considerable parenting support. A second strand aims at providing
free "nursery education" for 2 1/2 hours a day first for all four-year-olds
and this year for three-year-olds as well. The third strand is aimed at
ending poverty by 2020 by increasing family benefits and tax credits for the
poorest 20% of families.
For more information on Sure Start, go to: http://www.surestart.gov.uk/
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