Monitoring Child Well-being

Book excerpt: Taking a rights-based approach, this comprehensive study develops a conceptual framework and a definitive set of holistic indicators for monitoring the well-being of children in South Africa. Taking cues from the child-rights focus of the South African constitution, it is made clear that it is not just the state of the children that is important to measure, but also the contexts within which the children grow and develop. Providing practical tools for policy makers to assess the effectiveness of child-based policies and interventions, this practical work addresses a wide range of domains--child poverty, HIV and AIDS, education, mental health and disability, abuse and neglect, the justice system, and children affected by the worst forms of labor.