[Poverty status of households delinquent to paying school lunch fees: A descriptive study using the 2023 JACSIS study].

Abstract

Objective　This study aimed to describe the living conditions of households that had experienced arrears in school lunch fees for economic reasons and compile basic data to devise measures to address the problem of arrears in school lunch fees and child poverty.Methods　We used data from the JACSIS study (2023), focusing on households with at least one school-age child. A state of arrears in school lunch fees was defined as "experiencing arrears" if the participants reported that they had experienced being unable to pay their children's school lunch fees for financial reasons, and "not experiencing arrears" otherwise. We employed a set of indicators to evaluate the poverty and living conditions of guardians and children, such as deprivation, household income, changes in income, and food insecurity for household poverty status, and items related to adverse childhood experiences of guardians and children's living conditions. The number and percentage of respondents for each indicator were calculated by school lunch payment status.Results　Of the 1,919 participants, 88 (4.6%) had experienced arrears in school lunch fees, while 1,831 (95.4%) had not. Among those who had experienced arrears, 97.7% were in a state of deprivation, compared to 9.1% of those who had not experienced arrears. Additionally, those who had experienced arrears had a higher percentage of households with an income of less than four million yen (10.0% without experience of arrears vs. 17.1% with experience), reduced income (48.4% vs. 85.2%), and higher food insecurity (11.2% vs. 26.1%). Children from households with arrears were more likely to be respond "I do not know" or "I do not want to answer" by their guardians on all items related to childhood adverse experiences. They were also more likely to have guardians with mental illness (7.4% vs. 27.3%) and to experience domestic violence (14.4% vs. 80.7%).Conclusion　The findings suggest that households with school lunch fee arrears were likely to be experiencing severe poverty and situations suggestive of child maltreatment. Therefore, identifying arrears in school lunch fees as a sign of poverty may reduce the incidence of such arrears and help protect children's right to a healthy upbringing by connecting families to appropriate support.