Implications for policy design.

 

Pursuing a family-centred policy model means designing policy around families as integrated social units – and as a cornerstone of sustainable development – supported by evidence of what works for children. 

General recommendations are as follows:

 1. Ensure that the needs of all infants and other children under school age are met by moving towards spending parity for young children in future allocations dedicated to children. 

2. Invest in families early – from family formation through early childhood – using pre-distributive and preventative approaches, particularly universal social protection. Evidence shows the highest returns at this stage. Universal Child Benefits (UCBs), if adequately funded, could eliminate extreme child poverty globally. Where resources are limited, prioritising the youngest children is both efficient and evidence-based. UCBs also strengthen delivery systems – enabling rapid support in times of crisis. 

3. Ensure children are fully included in all rebates, dividends, and cash transfers. Per-household designs and caps on family size often disadvantage larger families and younger children. Per capita approaches better reflect need, improve equity, and align with wider policy goals – including more efficient resource use in the context of climate pressures. 

4. Strengthen family environments for development through education services (including parental education), water, sanitation, and health investments (WASH), ensuring alignment with household conditions. 

5. Ensure robust, targeted support systems for families facing elevated risks through child protection and other human services. 

6. Promote integration across sectors, recognizing that combined interventions yield stronger and more consistent outcomes. 

7. Develop national and supranational monitoring sensitive to measures of family conditions from day 1, and that capture measures of equality in outcomes at a population level. Failure to centre families in policy design risks continued fragmented provision, weaker outcomes, under-realised potential and policy efficiency, and the continued transmission of intergenerational inequality at a cost to us all.