on the effects that most impact the region. In order to combat the lack of resources available in developed nations, policies must be developed that deliver resources to poor families and raise skill levels of poor children by building on successful welfare-to-work initiatives and maintaining financial work supports, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, refundable child care tax credits and housing vouchers. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child concludes that for a family in poverty, if the parents are unable to fulfill their duties as financial caregivers for their children, the state is expected to fill in to maintain the health and wellbeing of the children. This declaration argues that the responsibility to address child poverty should not solely be placed on the parents and caregivers of the children but taken up by the states of which the children are inhabiting. While many welfare states are working to improve their welfare programs, issues of citizenship and citizenship policies often negate the state's ability to combat poverty efficiently, thus sustaining the child and their family's impoverished status in society. Combating poverty in developed countries also means improving the schools that exist there. In order to help children in poverty, schools need to invest more money in school meals, libraries, and healthcare. To effectively address economic, demographic and cultural changes, economic and social service strategies to reverse the factors that generated the urban underclass, such as providing jobs and social services policies that deal with the effects of isolation, should be implemented. Finally, in order to reduce the cycle of poverty for children and families, policies should be aimed at expanding economic opportunities especially for disadvantaged girls. Conclusion UNICEF advocates for greater national investments in social protection and supports government efforts to track and monitor progress on poverty reduction. The roots of the problem lie in a mix of: a failure to prioritize the social protection programmes that have the greatest benefits for children limited budgets and human resources barriers such as bureaucratic processes and lack of information about entitlements and programmes, and discrimination against the most vulnerable people, including those who receive social protection. The result: the most vulnerable children in the region are not being reached by benefits to which they are entitled. Aiming for an end to poverty – in line with Sustainable Development Goal 1 – UNICEF is working with governments and other partners across