Non-Contributory Cash Transfers: An Instrument To Promote the Rights and Well-Being of Children With Disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

This study establishes a sociodemographic profile of children with disabilities, the majority of whom are living in poverty, and analyses non-contributory cash transfer programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean that cover or prioritize families with children or adolescents with disabilities. These programmes may be the gateway to the establishment of full inclusion routes for children and adolescents with disabilities and their families, both in the social and the labour sphere. While the region has seen an increase in the number of cash transfer programmes that cater to or prioritize families with children or adolescents with disabilities, there is a need for comprehensive action to ensure accessible services, strengthen selection tools as well as recipient registries and disability certification processes, and establish cash transfer amounts that cover all costs associated with childhood disability.

Keywords: disability, children, cash transfers, social protection, poverty, Latin America

JEL Classification: j14, j18, i3, i38