Discovering child poverty: The creation of a policy agenda from 1800 to the present (Studies in Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion)

Child poverty is currently regarded by many as the number one issue in Britain. Yet is has not always been so high on the policy agenda. What were attitudes to poor children two hundred years ago? How did child poverty emerge as both a quantifiable and urgent issue? And how did policy makers respond? These are the questions that this book tackles. The book charts key British developments in child welfare, child poverty research and state support for children from 1800 to the present day. With direct quotations from key sources, it argues that even in the face of clear evidence of hardship the response of policy makers to child poverty has been ambivalent.