HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT: LEGISLATIVE AND POLICYAPPROACHES IN WESTMINSTER DEMOCRACIES

Abstract

Healthy child development depends upon parents, families and communities, backstopped by enabling and supportive public institutions and legislation. Governments around the world have made moral and legal commitments to protect and nurture their youngest citizens. This paper outlines and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of health and child development-related legislation from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. An effective system should provide holistic and comprehensive services (and be able to identify and fill gaps), as well as include incentives and processes for continuous quality improvement and appropriate accountability both of public servants to the Legislative branch and elected officials to the public. Such systems also need to collaborate and coordinate across the various sectors that can influence the many social determinants of health.