Social Exclusion and Children:A European view for a US debate

The concept of social exclusion has been widely debated in Europe butits application to children has seen relatively little discussion. What couldbe meant by exclusion of children is the first main theme of the paper.Among other things, I consider the choice of reference group, thegeographical dimension of exclusion, and the issue of who is responsiblefor any exclusion of children. The second main theme is the use of theconcept of exclusion in the USA, where in contrast to Europe it hasachieved little penetration to date. To assess whether there is fertileground for discussion of social exclusion as it relates to children in theUS, I discuss various features of US society and institutions includingthe measurement of poverty, analysis of children’s living standards,state versus federal responsibilities, welfare reform and the emphasis on‘personal responsibility’.[...]