Childonomics - Measuring the long term social and economic value of investing in children

The Childonomics research project has developed an instrument that can help reflect on the long term social and economic return of investing in children and families within a given national or sub-national context. The instrument enables consideration of  the different types of costs of different services and approaches to supporting children and families in vulnerable situations or at risk of vulnerable situations and links them to the expected outcomes of using these services. The project uses a rights-based approach as a basis for understanding what investing in children and families requires to ensure the well-being of children, with a particular focus on supporting children, families and communities in order to prevent and reduce any form of developmental delay, harm and especially the unnecessary separation of children from their parents. The instrument has been tested in Romania and Malta and the results are presented in the plenary with an opportunity to discuss the instrument and the results in more detail with the research team who developed and tested it during the workshop.