European Observatory on Family Policy
Established in January 2022, the 'European Observatory on Family Policy' is a joint project of COFACE Families Europe and the Centre for Family Sciences. It aims to be a platform for identifying trends and priorities in family policy in EU Member States, developing innovative frameworks to analyse family policy, and bridging academics, policymakers and family organisations.
Currently on the Calendar
Webinar 'The Finnish Family Centre Model'
Discover one of Europe's leading models for integrated family support
8 October 2026 | 14:00–16:00 (CEST)
For more than 20 years, Finland has been developing an integrated approach to family support through its nationwide Family Centre (Perhekeskus) model. Today, nearly 200 family centres provide coordinated services for families with children, making the model a cornerstone of the Finnish welfare system.
This webinar brings together policymakers, researchers, practitioners and service providers interested in integrated family policies and cross-sectoral collaboration. Participants will gain practical insights into how the Finnish model is designed, governed and implemented, while engaging directly with researchers and frontline professionals.
Participation is free of charge – the webinar will be conducted entirely in English.
Activities and reports
Conference Breaking Silos, Building Futures
Together with COFACE Families Europe we organised on 25-26 September 2025 the international conference 'Breaking Silos, Building Futures: Policy Innovations for Integrated Family and Child Support'.
This conference convened researchers, policymakers, public administrators, and NGOs to advance integrated, place-based strategies that strengthen family resilience and equity through systemic service coordination. Centering on policy levers that empower municipalities and amplify early investments, the event explored how cross-sector collaboration enhances service quality and maximizes long-term societal returns.
The program featured a keynote roundtable followed by four interactive streams, each structured as workshops to foster debate and cross-fertilization of ideas.
- Stream 1 reimagined ECEC (Early childhood education and care) centers as community anchors, coordinating education, health, and social support.
- Stream 2 examined integrated service hubs to streamline access for families.
- Stream 3 tackled governance innovations to break silos in local prevention efforts;
- while Stream 4 harnessed digital tools to bridge service gaps.
Monitoring report and Webinar
In the period 2022-2023, the European Observatory has been working on a monitoring report on the policy instruments that support families in the first years of children's lives. The focus on 'early years' has been increasing in recent years, with the Council Recommendation on high-quality early childhood education and care systems (2019), the EU Child Guarantee (2021) and the EU Care Strategy (2022). The report analyses the coordination between policies on leave arrangements, childcare, early childhood education and family support, based on data from various sources (including EU/national databases, existing family policy research, EU/OECD reports), complemented by five case studies in Belgium (Flanders), Poland, Finland, Germany and Italy.
On 15/11/2023, we organised our first webinar on which we presented this report: 'Towards greater family policy integration across Europe'. This first Observatory report compares family policy in five EU countries: Belgium (Flanders), Poland, Finland, Germany and Italy.
Did you miss the webinar? You can check out the presentation delivered by Martino Serapioni.
COFACE-AGF expert meeting in Berlin
On 9 October 2024, the ‘European expert discussion on the role of the local level in the implementation of the European Child Guarantee’ took place in Berlin. Researcher Kristien Nys gave the presentation ‘Houses of the Child and Family coaches: integrated support for families in vulnerable situations’. She discussed the Houses of the Child and family coaching as illustrations of integrated working and what the preconditions for this are.
Kathleen Emmery and Jos Sterckx attended and further participated in a strategic exchange where the European Observatory of Family Policy was also presented.
Factsheet on the Childcare gap in the European Union
The ‘childcare gap’ refers to a critical period following the birth of a child, during which new parents have exhausted their well-paid parental leave but have not yet become eligible to enroll their newborn in state-supported full-time formal daycare. Unable to access either well-paid leave or an affordable full-time facility, families are forced to rely on their own resources.
This factsheet provides an overview of the current situation across the European Union, with a particular focus on the duration of the coverage gap in different countries, the specific features of daycare entitlements, and the associated parental costs. View the factsheet.
Insights on Family Policies
Insights on Family Policies is an editorial series dedicated to examining contemporary developments in family policy across European contexts. Published by the European Observatory of Family Policy, the Insights series engages with critical debates on the design, implementation, and coordination of policies that support families in diverse and evolving societal landscapes.
Who is who?
Coördinator: Martino Serapioni
Research team:
- Elizabeth Gosme, Anne-Mie Drieskens for COFACE
- Kathleen Emmery, Tanja Nuelant and Jos Sterckx for our research centre
Research period: Jan 2022-2025
