Migrant families' access to ECEC and family policies: The Australian and Italian case compared

Abstract

This paper analyses in a comparative perspective the degree of convergence in migrant families' access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) and work/family policies in two different welfare state regimes: Italy and in Australia. Using a framework based on the concept of conditionality—or the notion that access to support is conditional and based on an individual's personal and familial characteristics, circumstances or behaviors—-the analysis examines the extent to which policies designed to support families with young children are accessible to migrant families. It argues that access to ECEC and family policies is restricted in both Italy and Australia according to a series of conditions, but that these conditions apply differently to people of different migrant statuses. In doing so the paper aims to improve our understanding of how welfare states respond to needs associated with migration for children and families and the extent to which they tend to converge.

Social protection for mobile populations? A global perspective on immigrant social rights

“…As with legal categories of immigrants, existing studies encompass a broad range of relevant benefits in their conceptualization of immigrant social rights. A number of articles explicitly focus on one or several benefit types, such as social assistance (e.g., Harris and Römer 2022) employment related benefits (Gschwind 2021; Guiraudon 2002), or family and employment related benefits (Boucher 2014; Eugster 2018; Naldini, Adamson, and Hamilton 2022). A smaller number of studies includes a larger array of benefits (Guiraudon 2002; Kim 2021; Wenzel and Bös 1997).…”

“…Other studies, even though speaking of ‘immigrant (social) rights’ as a unified concept, acknowledge differences and in some cases, in principle the data even allow for dis‐aggregation. A closer look, however, reveals that most authors do not theorise which legal categories are relevant and why, for instance, some studies include the rights of forced migrants (e.g., Koning 2021), whereas others disregard them (e.g., Eugster 2018; Naldini, Adamson, and Hamilton 2022; Schmitt and Teney 2019).…”

Introduction to the Thematic Series: Use and consequences of family policies among migrants and their descendants in Europe

“…Previous research in demography and family sociology has primarily focused on cross-country comparisons based on studies of majority, non-migrant populations (with the notable exceptions of Naldini et al, 2022;Van Lancker & Pavolini, 2023). Yet, this research practice neglects the population diversity resulting from long-standing immigration and the growth of migrant or ethnic minority groups in European countries.…”