Early childhood development programmes can prevent the passing of poverty from one generation to the next, President Rosen Plevneliev said today, opening the two-day UNICEF high-level conference entitled “Ending the placement of children under three in institutions: Support nurturing families for all young children”. The forum, held in Sofia under the patronage of the Head of State, brings together representatives of 25 countries of the European Union and the CIS.

Over a 15-year period, special institutions for children in Bulgaria are to be closed and replaced by a network of public services close to the home environment, the President told the conference. The President pointed to studies showing that children who are born into disadvantaged families are at greatest risk, and for every three months spent in a specialised institution, the physical development of a child is held back by a month.

President Plevneliev said that investments in early childhood development programmes have the greatest long-term returns. The effectiveness of these investments is particularly high in cases of children at risk, while there are large costs associated with managing the consequences, including health problems or dropping out of school. A recent study in Bulgaria of the various care centres demonstrated that the cost of institutional care is low, but in the long run they provide low-quality service and produce poor results. “Subsequent spending on the integration of those who leave these institutions represents a very high cost for society,” the President said, and highlighted foster care in all its forms as the most effective among all forms of childcare.

“In the light of the continued aging of the population, investments in children are not simply just a moral obligation for all of us towards the most vulnerable members of our society, but are also an economic necessity,” the President emphasised. He underlined that Bulgaria has a clear political will to complete the reforms that will see children younger than three removed from special institutions. On the social front, a strong network of services should be established, and there should be a long-term vision to address the consequences of a short-sighted policy, primarily towards disadvantaged children. “Promising futures await those nations that invest wisely in their smallest citizens,” the President told the forum.