A Brighter Future: Innovative Initiatives to Empower the Potential of Street Children

Abstract

Street children are a marginal social group that is often overlooked
in the mainstream of national development. Their existence not
only reflects structural poverty, but also shows the failure of the
child protection system in providing basic rights such as education,
protection, nurturing, and health insurance. In the Indonesian
context, the phenomenon of street children has developed into a
complex and multidimensional social problem. This article aims to
examine various innovative initiatives that have been developed
between 2020 and 2025 in order to empower the potential of
street children. This research uses literature study methods from
various scientific journals that discuss educational, psychosocial,
legal, and economic empowerment approaches. The results of the
study show that an integrative and collaborative approach
involving social services, children's social welfare institutions,
communities, and social workers can have a significant impact in
improving the quality of life of street children. Initiatives such as
alternative education, entrepreneurial skills training, religious
guidance, and social rehabilitation have yielded positive results in
restoring the rights and dignity of children who were previously
excluded from the social system. Thus, the development of
community-based and multi-sector empowerment models is an
important step in realizing a brighter future for street children