Economic collapse in the former Communist bloc led to soaring levels of child poverty
in the 1990s. The effects of rising unemployment, underemployment and wage arrears were
exacerbated by the erosion of state support for families with children as governments responded to a
collapse in revenue.
Since 1998, even the poorer countries of the bloc - those in South Eastern Europe and the CIS
- have seen a return to economic growth. But have the benefits of growth been felt by children? Are
child support policies being restored or restructured as economic conditions improve, and to what
effect?