ABSTRACT
Social exclusion is a process that leads to individuals and groups being shut out from the full benefits of being a citizen (Walker, 1997). Exclusion is often the product of multiple disadvantages that certain families experience, including lack of income, lack of basic skills, homelessness and unemployment. It is not simply a question of poverty, but rather of a lack of integration and power that reduces the opportunity to be active citizens. The term social exclusion has replaced poverty in the discussions of disadvantage (Lee and Murie, 1999).
